Evaluating Information

Not every article, book, or website will be accurate, useful, or up to date. Try to assess sources critically by asking questions like:

  • Can the source answer the question?
  • How authoritative is the source?
  • Is the author a recognized expert in the field?
  • Have other sources referred favourably to the author's work?
  • Who published this?
  • Does this publisher have a solid reputation in the field?
  • To whom is the author writing?
  • Is this a work intended for general readers or specialists?
  • When was this published?
  • If it was not published within the past three to five years, is it still current or is it outdated?
  • How rapidly is information in this field changing?
  • How relevant is this work to the topic?
  • Does the work present compelling arguments for both sides of a controversy before arguing one way or another?

 

How do you determine if the article is popular or scholarly? *

Loosely defined:

A scholarly article:

  • Provides footnotes or a bibliography
  • Is written by a researcher in the field
  • The author is usually affiliated with a college or university
  • Reports on original research or experimentation
  • May be published by a scholarly professional association or university press
  • Is peer reviewed before publication
  • Has few glossary pictures
  • Has graphs and charts as illustrations

A popular article:

  • Rarely provides footnotes or a bibliography
  • Is written to entertain, is usually short and in simple language
  • Is written by a staff or freelance writer, possibly a scholar
  • Does not state the qualifications of the author
  • Usually published by commercial enterprises
  • Includes pictures or photographs, appears to be a costly publication to produce
  • Reports on information second or third hand

*From Research Strategy Queen's University Libraries

 

Obscurantism is a method to hide what is known. For example, one way an insurance claim may be denied is to produce an independent medical opinion of a condition that is not compensable. While the opinion may be correct, it does not mean the claim is improper. What tends to happen is that the actual condition is ignored or subsumed by non-compensable findings. When this happens the assumption is that the claim is denied because it may be due to something else. Therefore the attending doctor should specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of the medical condition. The specialist must also be able to clearly link the condition to the cause and place any other opinions in proper context. If the attending physician is a general practitioner, then in order for the claim to be upheld, a specialist must be consulted to uncover what is being hidden.

Obscurantism, planned or not, is most apparent in popular work. It is used extensively by politicians, insurers, employers, professionals, and individuals, to hide or cover-up what interferes with self-interest. Credibility is the measure of the ability to hide or uncover fact, opinion, and reason for result,