Henry Buhl Library: Research Basics: How do I know if a source is credible? (2024)

FAQs

How do you know if a research source is credible? ›

The information should be up-to-date and current. The source should be relevant to your research. The author and publication should be a trusted authority on the subject you are researching. The sources the author cited should be easy to find, clear, and unbiased.

It is important to be able to identify which sources are credible. This ability requires an understanding of depth, objectivity, currency, authority, and purpose. Whether or not your source is peer-reviewed, it is still a good idea to evaluate it based on these five factors.

A credible or reliable source is one where you can trust the information that the source provides. You can rely on the information provided within the source because the person, publisher, or institution that is providing this information is a credible source for that information.

An author of a scholarly (or academic) article will usually include his/her credentials or affiliations. You will also see references (footnotes, endnotes, etc.). Check to see if the author has written other articles on this topic by searching in an appropriate article database.

Credibility in Qualitative Research

Triangulation, prolonged engagement with data, persistent observation, negative case analysis, member checks, and referential adequacy are all procedures that can be used to increase the credibility of qualitative studies.

These include: 1. Lack of authorship or publication date: If the source doesn't have an identifiable author or publication date, it might not be reliable. 2. Bias: If the source appears to have a particular agenda or bias, it may not present information objectively or accurately.

Examples of establishing credibility in qualitative research include: Conducting member checking by presenting the findings to participants and asking for feedback. Using multiple sources of data, such as interviews, observations, and documents, to confirm the findings.

Here are some questions to ask to determine if a source is credible: Who – Look for information created by an identifiable author or organization. Is there an author name? Are any credentials or background information available on the author – can you tell if the author is qualified to write about this topic?

What are the 5 criteria used to ensure that a source is credible? ›

Accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency and coverage are the five basic criteria for evaluating information from any sources. Is the information reliable? Is the information error-free? Is the information based on proven facts?

Common evaluation criteria include: purpose and intended audience, authority and credibility, accuracy and reliability, currency and timeliness, and objectivity or bias. Each of these criteria will be explained in more detail below.

Research articles without citations. Materials published over 15 years ago or have theories that are out of date. Individual or business websites. Materials that are published by an entity that may have an ulterior motive.

The term scholarly typically means that the source has been “peer-reviewed,” which is a lengthy editing and review process performed by scholars in the field to check for quality and validity. To determine if your source has been peer-reviewed, you can investigate the journal in which the article was published.

The first key points historians want to check about a source is whether the source is based on accurate knowledge and understanding. To do this, they might check whether the author was there at the time, whether the author was involved in the event, whether the author understood the overall context.