Evaluation of Resources

This module discusses how to evaluate sources, including which things to consider, or are more/less important, and which types of sources are scholarly.

It is important, when writing a paper, making judgments or decisions, or preparing to communicate information, to make sure your resources are of sound quality.

Scholarly sources generally increase the quality of your research papers, decisions, or judgments. They are likely to be found in academic journals, but some books may also be scholarly if they are published by a university press or are affiliated with the US Government Printing Office or a professional organization. Some websites can be scholarly as well, but these websites need to be written or edited by experts on the topic, and objective without bias. Therefore, it is important that one judge the quality of his or her source to determine if a resource is scholarly.

Information of poor quality can have a negative effect on your decisions, your work, and your reputation.

One easy-to-remember method that can help you to evaluate the quality of information is the RADAR framework.

The acronym RADAR stands for:

R – Rationale

Because information is constructed with a purpose, it is important to determine why information is created or presented. Sometimes, the information is biased, or is inaccurate but presented in such a way as to deceive. Some information, on the other hand, is objective without any partiality or bias. Therefore, the rationale or reason behind why the information is presented or created is important to evaluate.

A – Authority

Authority is important to determine because some resources are put forth by people who know little about the subject. Therefore, they do not have the authority to speak on the subject as much as someone who knows a lot about the subject, has put forth a lot of research on it, or is in a position to speak authoritatively about it. Number and type of awards, educational background, and other things written by the author are also important to consider.

D – Date

Because information can be made quickly obsolete with new information, date of the information is important to consider. However, date may be less important if the information utilized is not facts, or a historical overview on a topic.

A – Accuracy

It is important to check for accuracy with the information because decisions, clients, and reputations depend on how accurate the information is. If untruths or errors are present, negative consequences may result.

R – Relevance

Finally, it is important to ensure you are using relevant information to support your claims, therapy, or research.  Research or therapy that is not supported by strong, pertinent information cannot be used to make sound judgments or decisions or may have negative consequences.