Business

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.

Carefully evaluate all information, whether from a book, article, or website, by asking the following questions:

• Who?  Who is the author of this source?
  • Are they qualified to write/speak on the subject?
  • Do you detect any bias on the author’s part in relation to the subject?
• What? What is the source?
  • Does it have a title?
  • Is it a primary source, such as an original document or creative work or is it a secondary source, such as a report or analysis of primary sources?
  • Is it authoritative or trustworthy?
• How?
  • How was the source produced?
  • Who is the publisher or sponsoring organization?
• Where did you find the source?
  • Was it through a library’s databases or through an internet search engine that may list results in a biased or weighted manner?
• When was the source published? 
  • Has it been replaced or updated?

MLA Handbook. 8^th ed., The Modern Language Association, 2016, pp. 11-12.