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Research Tutorial

Module 6: Evaluate Sources

The quality of sources you use count toward the final grade of your research paper. If you've chosen unsuitable sources, even a well written paper won't earn a top grade. You should only select sources appropriate for your assignment. Articles from a magazine might be allowed for a presentation but not for a research paper. Using inappropriate sources will affect your project's grade.

There is no checklist to follow when evaluating sources. The concepts and questions below are simply a starting point to critically engage with the source and content to determine if it is reliable and appropriate for your use.

Module Sections

In this module you will learn how to evaluate sources: 

  • Authorship
  • Audience
  • Scholarship
  • Bias/Objectivity
  • Currency
  • Overall Quality of Information
  • Is This Source Peer-Reviewed?

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Unless otherwise noted, this guide is licensed under a CC BY-SA 4.0 (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License).