Evaluating
Sources

By now you know that Wikipedia, HowStuffWorks, message boards, and user-input sites are not appropriate for college-level work. You should also avoid encyclopedias and dictionaries! Encylopedias are secondary sources; information did not start there. Dictionaries only give basic definitions, not a good understanding and depth of topics. If you insist on using AI to look for sources, make sure what you put in your work is legitimate (AI invents things all the time) and that you actually visit the sources if you are going to cite/reference them. Falsification of source material is a serious academic offense.

Your best bet is to use your school's online resources (many have access to EBSCO), ERIC, and Google Scholar (but ignore their "labs") to easily find legitimate sources. There are decent news articles and informational websites you might find with a simple Google search that might be useful; look for items that have human authorship if possible. Important: If you are writing for school, make sure your teachers have access to all the sources you use. Behind a paywall? Do not use it. A textbook you got for some other class but is not available online? Not good, either. Your teachers are tasked with making sure your sources are decent and the ideas cited come from the sources you chose.

Here are some guidelines in evaluating web-based sources:

Most important

• Authorship: Who wrote it, and does this person have credentials in the field?
• Sponsorship: Who sponsors the website? Does this company or sponsor have a biased agenda? Is it considered a respectable site? Click around the site to find out how they allow people to be authors, and make sure it is not just a user-input site.

Also to consider

• Currency: How new is the source? (Do not look at the copyright date, as it does not indicate when an article was placed online.) Depending on the technology you are researching, determine how old is "too old." Keep in mind that some older sources may be helpful for an historical view, however.
• Writing style: Is the writing serious and formal? Is it mostly free of writing errors?
• Content organization: Is the information easy to understand? Subheadings help with longer articles, although the use is not a requirement.
• Content depth: Are there enough details to really provide a good look into the topic for your school level (early undergraduate - upper level undergraduate - graduate)?
• Perceived intent: Is the article trying to sell you something (products, services, or ideas)? Is there a noticeable bias?

You must evaluate all sources, even those from libraries and academic search engines. You will find that few sources will be perfect, so look for those which fit your parameters best and maintain a healthy skepticism!

 

Originally created a while back, spontaneously.
Updated December 11, 2025 just because.
Spontaneous Fudge pages © Prof. Tamara Fudge