{"id":281,"date":"2016-07-14T20:22:27","date_gmt":"2016-07-14T20:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level3-english\/?post_type=chapter&p=281"},"modified":"2018-08-28T17:27:51","modified_gmt":"2018-08-28T17:27:51","slug":"text-evaluating-sources","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-esc-englishcomposition1-2\/chapter\/text-evaluating-sources\/","title":{"raw":"Evaluating Sources","rendered":"Evaluating Sources"},"content":{"raw":"\"decorative\r\n\r\nCritical thinking is interwoven in all steps of the research process, and one of the\u00a0places you will definitely use it is when you evaluate your sources. As you researched your sources, you may have developed a good sense of which sources are going to be the most useful in supporting your working thesis. However, the credibility of your research paper relates directly to\u00a0your sources.\u00a0 Are your sources themselves valid? You need to consciously evaluate your sources in order to make final choices about using them in your research essay.\r\n\r\nThe two main questions you should ask yourself when evaluating sources are the following:\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. Is this source suitable?<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Is this source trustworthy?<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nNot every suitable source is trustworthy, and not every trustworthy source is suitable.\u00a0In Marvin's example that follows, you'll see that the writing professor encourages Marvin to talk\u00a0<\/em>to the right sources. Remember that Marvin already learned about the importance of walking<\/em> to the right places to find good sources. Now,\u00a0Marvin needs to talk with his sources in order to become a part of the conversation on his topic. To do this,\u00a0he needs to find authors who are trustworthy and<\/em> knowledgeable.\r\n
    \r\n

    Finding Trustworthy Sources<\/h3>\r\n

    Marvin: If I used a university or government website on bottled water quality, readers would trust me more than if I just used a bottled water company website?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Prof: Yes. But to dig deeper into the question of trust, let\u2019s move on to a second metaphor: talking<\/i>. Although the metaphor of walking <\/i>is useful for understanding how to find and document sources, it can give the impression that sources are separate, inert, and neutral things, waiting to be snatched up like gold nuggets and plugged into your writing. In reality, sources are parts of overlapping knowledge networks that connect meanings and the people that make and use them. Knowledge networks are always in flux, since people are always making new meaning. Let\u2019s go back to your health and environment project. Refresh my memory. What kinds of questions do you need answers to before you can write your paper?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Marvin: Well, I need to know if bottled water is truly healthier, like the beverage companies claim. Or would I be just as well off drinking tap water?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Prof: To answer this question, you\u2019ll want to find out who\u2019s talking <\/i>about these issues. As Kenneth Burke put it, you can think of sources as voices in an ongoing conversation about the world:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Imagine that you enter a parlor. You come late. When you arrive, others have long preceded you, and they are engaged in a heated discussion, a discussion too heated for them to pause and tell you exactly what it is about. In fact, the discussion had already begun long before any of them got there, so that no one present is qualified to retrace for you all the steps that had gone before. You listen for a while, until you decide that you have caught the tenor of the argument; then you put in your oar. Someone answers; you answer him; another comes to your defense; another aligns himself against you, to either the embarrassment or gratification of your opponent, depending upon the quality of your ally\u2019s assistance. However, the discussion is interminable. The hour grows late, you must depart. And you do depart, with the discussion still vigorously in progress. (110\u2013111)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The authors of texts aren\u2019t speaking aloud, of course, but they\u2019re making written statements that others can \u201clisten\u201d and \u201crespond\u201d to. Knowing which texts you can trust means understanding which authors you can trust.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Marvin: How do I figure that out?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Prof: It helps to know who the authors are. What they\u2019re saying. Where, when, and to whom they\u2019re saying it. And what their purposes are. Imagine the world as divided into many parlors like the one Kenneth Burke described. You\u2019d want to go to the parlors where people who really know something are talking <\/i>about the topics you\u2019re interested in.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nTo go into more depth into questions about suitability and trustworthiness of sources, consider the following.\r\n

    Determining Suitability<\/h3>\r\nYour task as a researcher is to determine the appropriateness of the information your source\u00a0contains, for your particular research project. Ask this simple question: Will this source help me answer\u00a0my research questions? Will it help me learn as much as I can about my topic? \u00a0Will it help me\u00a0write an\u00a0interesting, convincing\u00a0essay\u00a0for my readers?\r\n\r\nSuitable sources:\r\n
      \r\n \t
    • contain facts\/opinions that support your working thesis<\/li>\r\n \t
    • contain illustrations or data that support your working thesis<\/li>\r\n \t
    • clearly explain their information<\/li>\r\n \t
    • are\/were written by a well known authority or expert<\/li>\r\n \t
    • carefully cite the sources they used<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nUnsuitable sources:\r\n
        \r\n \t
      • may not be related to the angle in your working thesis, and may not offer any relevant, important counter-argument<\/li>\r\n \t
      • may not contain any new information that advances your understanding of your topic<\/li>\r\n \t
      • may be too narrow or too broad in coverage of your topic<\/li>\r\n \t
      • may be from very general sources and\u00a0not\u00a0from a scholarly journal or peer-reviewed source<\/li>\r\n \t
      • may be from a scholarly journal but be too technical or difficult for you to understand<\/li>\r\n \t
      • may be out of date<\/li>\r\n \t
      • do not cite the sources they used<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n

        Determining Trustworthiness<\/h3>\r\nTo determine the trustworthiness of a source, you want to ensure that a source is current, written by an expert, accurate, and unbiased. You'll want to consider the rhetorical context of a source, including its purpose, audience, and focus.\r\n\r\nAs a review, view the following video, which clearly identifies a variety of questions to ask in order\u00a0to evaluate sources.\r\n\r\n[embed]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WC7byVybj9Y&feature=youtu.be[\/embed]","rendered":"

        \"decorative<\/p>\n

        Critical thinking is interwoven in all steps of the research process, and one of the\u00a0places you will definitely use it is when you evaluate your sources. As you researched your sources, you may have developed a good sense of which sources are going to be the most useful in supporting your working thesis. However, the credibility of your research paper relates directly to\u00a0your sources.\u00a0 Are your sources themselves valid? You need to consciously evaluate your sources in order to make final choices about using them in your research essay.<\/p>\n

        The two main questions you should ask yourself when evaluating sources are the following:<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Is this source suitable?<\/li>\n
        2. Is this source trustworthy?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Not every suitable source is trustworthy, and not every trustworthy source is suitable.\u00a0In Marvin’s example that follows, you’ll see that the writing professor encourages Marvin to talk\u00a0<\/em>to the right sources. Remember that Marvin already learned about the importance of walking<\/em> to the right places to find good sources. Now,\u00a0Marvin needs to talk with his sources in order to become a part of the conversation on his topic. To do this,\u00a0he needs to find authors who are trustworthy and<\/em> knowledgeable.<\/p>\n

          \n

          Finding Trustworthy Sources<\/h3>\n

          Marvin: If I used a university or government website on bottled water quality, readers would trust me more than if I just used a bottled water company website?<\/span><\/p>\n

          Prof: Yes. But to dig deeper into the question of trust, let\u2019s move on to a second metaphor: talking<\/i>. Although the metaphor of walking <\/i>is useful for understanding how to find and document sources, it can give the impression that sources are separate, inert, and neutral things, waiting to be snatched up like gold nuggets and plugged into your writing. In reality, sources are parts of overlapping knowledge networks that connect meanings and the people that make and use them. Knowledge networks are always in flux, since people are always making new meaning. Let\u2019s go back to your health and environment project. Refresh my memory. What kinds of questions do you need answers to before you can write your paper?<\/span><\/p>\n

          Marvin: Well, I need to know if bottled water is truly healthier, like the beverage companies claim. Or would I be just as well off drinking tap water?<\/span><\/p>\n

          Prof: To answer this question, you\u2019ll want to find out who\u2019s talking <\/i>about these issues. As Kenneth Burke put it, you can think of sources as voices in an ongoing conversation about the world:<\/span><\/p>\n

          Imagine that you enter a parlor. You come late. When you arrive, others have long preceded you, and they are engaged in a heated discussion, a discussion too heated for them to pause and tell you exactly what it is about. In fact, the discussion had already begun long before any of them got there, so that no one present is qualified to retrace for you all the steps that had gone before. You listen for a while, until you decide that you have caught the tenor of the argument; then you put in your oar. Someone answers; you answer him; another comes to your defense; another aligns himself against you, to either the embarrassment or gratification of your opponent, depending upon the quality of your ally\u2019s assistance. However, the discussion is interminable. The hour grows late, you must depart. And you do depart, with the discussion still vigorously in progress. (110\u2013111)<\/span><\/p>\n

          The authors of texts aren\u2019t speaking aloud, of course, but they\u2019re making written statements that others can \u201clisten\u201d and \u201crespond\u201d to. Knowing which texts you can trust means understanding which authors you can trust.<\/span><\/p>\n

          Marvin: How do I figure that out?<\/span><\/p>\n

          Prof: It helps to know who the authors are. What they\u2019re saying. Where, when, and to whom they\u2019re saying it. And what their purposes are. Imagine the world as divided into many parlors like the one Kenneth Burke described. You\u2019d want to go to the parlors where people who really know something are talking <\/i>about the topics you\u2019re interested in.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

          To go into more depth into questions about suitability and trustworthiness of sources, consider the following.<\/p>\n

          Determining Suitability<\/h3>\n

          Your task as a researcher is to determine the appropriateness of the information your source\u00a0contains, for your particular research project. Ask this simple question: Will this source help me answer\u00a0my research questions? Will it help me learn as much as I can about my topic? \u00a0Will it help me\u00a0write an\u00a0interesting, convincing\u00a0essay\u00a0for my readers?<\/p>\n

          Suitable sources:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • contain facts\/opinions that support your working thesis<\/li>\n
          • contain illustrations or data that support your working thesis<\/li>\n
          • clearly explain their information<\/li>\n
          • are\/were written by a well known authority or expert<\/li>\n
          • carefully cite the sources they used<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Unsuitable sources:<\/p>\n

              \n
            • may not be related to the angle in your working thesis, and may not offer any relevant, important counter-argument<\/li>\n
            • may not contain any new information that advances your understanding of your topic<\/li>\n
            • may be too narrow or too broad in coverage of your topic<\/li>\n
            • may be from very general sources and\u00a0not\u00a0from a scholarly journal or peer-reviewed source<\/li>\n
            • may be from a scholarly journal but be too technical or difficult for you to understand<\/li>\n
            • may be out of date<\/li>\n
            • do not cite the sources they used<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Determining Trustworthiness<\/h3>\n

              To determine the trustworthiness of a source, you want to ensure that a source is current, written by an expert, accurate, and unbiased. You’ll want to consider the rhetorical context of a source, including its purpose, audience, and focus.<\/p>\n

              As a review, view the following video, which clearly identifies a variety of questions to ask in order\u00a0to evaluate sources.<\/p>\n