Understanding how to assess the credibility of the information you come across in your study and research is essential. More information is at our fingertips than ever before (IBM, 2012) and the amount of information makes it even harder to determine which information can be trusted. As the terms ‘post truth’, ‘fake news’, and ‘alternative facts’ become increasingly prevalent in social discourse and the public sphere it’s essential that you develop the skills to critically evaluate information yourself.
The term ‘credible’ refers to information that is not just believable but information that is convincingly true, accurate and reputable (OED Online, 2016)
Why use credible sources?
Using credible sources to back up your argument in your research gives your writing credibility. High quality resources supporting your arguments are more likely to translate into better results for your assignments. Conversely, poor quality references will be noticed and are likely to adversely affect your results.
What are scholarly and non-scholarly sources?
Scholarly information usually refers to information that you find from your Library’s resources. In general, scholarly works are written by experts in the field and are vetted for accuracy and scientific rigour via accepted scholarly publishing standards such as peer review (for journals and conferences) or editorial processes in the case of books (Lavoie et.al., 2014). A level of credibility is assumed when an item is found within the Library. However even if your evidence is sourced from the Library, the quality of the information itself should be assessed critically.
Non-scholarly sources usually refers to information that you find freely available on the Internet. Content on the web can be written by anyone, for any purpose, without any expectation of trustworthiness or truthfulness. You probably already have a certain level of scrutiny when looking at these types of resources but it is important to be able to critically appraise your evidence and to use the appropriate information for the right context.
How to assess the credibility of your sources?
Whether you have sourced your evidence from the Library or the web, consider these questions when assessing the credibility of the evidence. The criteria below have been adapted from the C.R.A.A.P (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose) Test developed by the Meriam Library, California State University (2010).