It is crucial that you evaluate any resources before you include them in your paper. This means that you are considering both a source's accuracy and reliability, as well how helpful it will be for the argument or counterargument that you are trying to make.
Overall, some things to take into consideration:
- Authority: Who wrote the source? What are their credentials? Do they have a social/cultural bias?
- Currency: How recently was the source written? Is the argument/data still current and accepted, or is their more recent scholarship that either agrees with or refutes this source?
- Accuracy: Can the information/argument in a source be found and verified elsewhere? Is it supported by evidence?
- Purpose: What is the purpose of a source/publication? Fact or opinion? Does it display any social/cultural bias?
More specific strategies for types of sources:
- For books:
- Read the author's biography and credentials -- consider an independent fact-check.
- Check the publication date.
- Read the introduction/conclusion to evaluate for bias.
- For journal articles:
- Read the author's biography and credentials.
- Use the links provided with most articles to read the mission statement of the journal that published the article.
- Check the publication date -- as the same author written anything on this topic more recently?
- For primary sources:
- Remember that primary sources are first-hand accounts created at the time of the event you are studying.
- Investigate the author (if possible) -- where does/did the author live? What are their credentials or professions? Do they have a social/cultural bias?
- What is the purpose of the source you are consulting? Fact or opinion? Does it display any bias?