‘Not all evidence is created equal’ is a phrase that rings true whether you’re researching for an assignment, or deciding what headphones you’re going to buy next.
No matter what it is you’re researching, evaluating the evidence is crucial - you don’t want to be left with bad information (or #fakenews) informing your argument. While I’d love to talk headphones, in this post we’re going to focus on evaluating information for your assignments.
Using peer-reviewed sources
Many of your assessments will require you to use peer-reviewed sources. Sometimes, your lecturer or tutor will say you need to use academic sources, or refereed sources, or scholarly sources - but don’t worry, these terms all mean the same thing: they’re all articles that have undergone a process of peer review. Articles like this will appear in peer-reviewed journals, and while you could search each individual issue of each individual journal, you can make your life a lot easier by using a suitable database to search many issues of many journals, all at once!
Even though most databases are full of peer-reviewed papers, some also contain other materials that aren’t necessarily considered to be of the same level - these can include theses, conference proceedings, and trade publications. Databases will typically give you an option to filter or limit your results to just those that are peer-reviewed, but if you’re having trouble finding this option, just ask us and we’ll show you!
Using websites
Websites usually aren’t considered suitable sources to use, but this depends on the type of assessment you have - there are always exceptions! As a general rule, you shouldn’t rely on websites to build your evidence base unless explicitly stated by your lecturer or in the assessment information. Blog posts that tackle an issue you’re investigating might be interesting, but they may be based on anecdote, rather than peer-reviewed evidence.
However, using government websites or sites from reputable non-government organisations (such as the United Nations or World Health Organization) is sometimes appropriate. The web address for organisations like this will usually end in .gov.au, .org or .int (look out for wikipedia.org, though - that’s definitely not an acceptable source!). Websites ending in .com are rarely appropriate, unless you’re being asked to investigate a particular business or look at commercial news sources.
Useful tools for evaluation
CRAAP: This is a handy acronym that can prompt your thoughts regarding any material you’re reading and wish to evaluate for suitability. Consider:
- Currency: Is the research current and up-to-date, or is it older and potentially irrelevant?
- Relevance: Is the information relevant to your needs? Who is the intended audience?
- Authority: Is the author of the information an expert in the field, or someone with limited knowledge?
- Accuracy: Does the information cite other reliable sources as evidence, or does it rely on the authors’ opinions alone?
- Purpose: What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform the reader, or to promote or sell something to them?
UlrichsWeb: A useful tool, looking up the title of a journal in UlrichsWeb will provide you with a variety of information, including whether it’s an academic or trade publication. As a general rule, if you’re reading an article from a journal that doesn’t appear in UlrichsWeb - don’t use it!
You can find more information about evaluating sources on Research & Learning Online - some sources are harder to evaluate than others, of course, so if you’re ever unsure, visit the Research & Learning Point in the Library!
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