Evaluating and Citing Sources: Importance and Criteria

Evaluating Sources

• Evaluating sources is crucial to ensure the credibility and reliability of the information used in a research or academic work.
• Criteria for evaluating sources include:
  • Relevance to the topic
  • Author's qualification and background
  • Date of publication (should be at most five years earlier)
  • Accuracy of information

Relevance to the Topic

• Check the title and headers of the text
• Review the table of contents, summary/abstract, and introduction
• Ensure the source supports the topic

Author's Qualification

• Check the author's background and its relation to the topic
• Verify the author's name, previous works, contact information, sources, and citations
• Be cautious when using sources without an author

Date of Publication

• The date of publication should be at most five years earlier (2019-present)
• Data from older publications may no longer be valid in most fields

Accuracy of Information

• The tone of the author should be formal and unbiased
• Avoid sources with unacceptable language or biased tone
• The author's style of writing should be formal and professional

Citing Sources

• Citing sources gives credit to the original author
• It promotes scholarly writing and helps the target audience identify the original source
• Forms of citation include:
  • Reference citation
  • In-text citation

Reference Citation

• Refers to the bibliographic entries of all references used by the writer
• Appears in the references list at the end of the paragraph

In-text Citation

• Requires the writer to cite the details of the reference used in a specific part of the essay
• Dependent on the reference citation
• Forms of in-text citation include:
  • Parenthetical citation
  • Narrative citation

APA Style

• Introduced in 2019, replaces the 6th Edition published in 2009
• Regulates style and language, document format, in-text citation, and references
• Used in disciplines such as education, psychology, sciences, and social sciences

APA Style Guidelines

• Use clear, concise language, avoiding contractions and colloquialisms
• Use "I" instead of "we"
• Use "that" and "which" for animals and inanimate objects, instead of "who"
• Numerals under 10 should be spelled out, and 10 and above expressed as a number
• Avoid using "he" or "she" as a generic pronoun, and instead use "they" or rephrase the sentence
• Avoid using adjectives as nouns to label groups of people, and instead use descriptive phrases
• Use past tense to refer to events that occurred at a specific point in the past
• Avoid biased language that reveals sex, gender, race, disability, or socioeconomic status
• Use exact age ranges instead of broad categories

Learn the importance of evaluating sources and the criteria used in the evaluation process. Explore factors such as relevance to the topic and author qualifications in determining the credibility of a source.