This page will help you learn how to evaluate sources based on your research needs. This is relevant to any assignment in ENGL 1302 that requires the use of sources, but especially the final writing assignment.

When you're evaluating sources for an academic research paper, there are several aspects you will want to consider and questions you can ask yourself throughout the process. These include, but are not limited to:

• Accuracy - Is this a reliably correct source of information?
• Timeliness - Is this the most current information available on my topic?
• Relevance - What specific aspects of my question or topic does this source address?
• Subjectivity - Does the author or publication of this source have a bias that would skew the conclusion?
• Author Expertise - What is the author's knowledge of or background in this topic?

If you want to learn more about evaluating sources, you can complete the Evaluating Sources lesson, which covers how to evaluate information based on its appropriateness to an information need, whether for a real-life scenario or an academic project. You can also use the worksheet to guide your process.