SPAN 2090 Intermediate Spanish I: Evaluate sources

What does the title tell you about the content?

• Look at the title of the book, journal, article, website, or the URL.
• A resource can have a great title but then be full of tangential ideas or not be related to your research – or vice versa – read through to look deeper.

Can you find information about the author?

• Is the author named?
• Does the author have expertise on the subject?
• What are his/her qualifications? Look for information in the resource.
• Use library databases, or Google or Google Scholar to find evidence of research on the same subject by the author.
• Is there contact information on a website?

What is the date? Is there a date?

• How current is the resource?
• Is it important that the information be current?
• Is there a date of the last update on a website?

Who is the intended audience?

• Is the language simple or technical? Is it scholarly?
• Use Google to find information about a publication.

How relevant is the resource?

• What is the resource about?
  • For a book, check the table of contents and the index.
  • For an article, read the abstract, summary, and conclusion.
  • For a website, check the home page for clues.
• Is the subject applicable to your research?

How objective is the content?

• What is the author’s point of view?
• Is the resource well-researched and detailed?
• Or is it biased?
• Is the information the author’s opinion or supported by facts?
• is there a dogmatic or persuasive purpose, or political slant?

Does the author document his or her sources?

• Are there references, citations, or related sources of information?
• Are there footnotes?

Fact-check it: can you confirm the content from other reputable sources?

You decide how you will use the content you discover:  as a primary source, opinion, scholarly source, illustration or example, or fact (for example).