For the source you’ve chosen—and it can be anything that relates to your final research essay topic—complete the following questionnaire.
Source Evaluation Questionnaire
Title of Source:
How you found it:
- Who wrote/presented this information? (If not an individual, who is responsible for publishing it?) Do a websearch on this individual or group. What do you learn?
- Where was this source published or made available? What other types of articles, etc., does this publication have on offer?
- Note one particular fact or bit of data that is included, here. Try to verify this fact by checking other sources. What do you learn?
- Does the author seem to have any bias? In what way? Why do you suspect this? (Review the Understanding Bias page to help.)
- Does the source publication have any bias? In what way? Why do you suspect this?
- What is this source’s thesis or prevailing idea?
- How does this source promote this main idea? In other words, how does it support its argument?
- What does this source’s primary audience seem to be? How do you know?
- What is its primary rhetorical mode (logic, emotion, ethics)?
- Does this source support, oppose, or remain neutral on your own paper’s thesis?