Biology 120 Cellular and Molecular Biology

Evaluating Sources

Evaluate all information, whether from a book, article, or website. 

• Find out what you can about the author/producer.
  • Google the author or organization’s name (lateral reading).
• Is it intended for a scholarly or general audience?
• Is it fact, opinion, or propaganda?
  • Facts are objective.
  • Opinion gives thoughts or ideas of a particular person or group. Opinion pieces are not necessarily unreliable, but the author should recognize there may be other varying opinions. Opinions may be biased. 
  • Propaganda spreads possibly biased information for a specific person, group, or cause. 
• Cross-check the information with other sources.
• How timely is the source?
• Examine the list of references if available.
• Read the abstract/summary to determine if it’s on your topic.

These guidelines were derived from General Guidelines, Online Writing Lab (OWL), Purdue University.

MLA also provides a checklist for evaluating sources. 

Investigate the author/producer - Lateral Reading

Searching for information about the author or organization responsible for the website, article, or book is an excellent way of evaluating sources. This method is called lateral reading. 

• Google the author or organization responsible for posting the information. 
• Search the author/organization in the library's OneSearch box. 

The Civic Online Reasoning Institute at Stanford University has an excellent explanation of Lateral Reading in "Sort Fact from Fiction Online with Lateral Reading."  The video is under four minutes. The University of Louisville Libraries also has this useful handout about lateral reading.

A Rough Guide to Spotting Bad Science handout

Brunning, Andy. "A Rough Guide to Spotting Bad Science." Ci: Compound Interest, Andy Brunning/Compound Interest, 2023, www.compoundchem.com/2014/04/02/a-rough-guide-to-spotting-bad-science/. Accessed 26 August 2024.