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ENG 101 Information Literacy Program Prof. Frank

Investigate the author/producer - Lateral Reading

A useful skill when evaluating material is to look for information about the author or organization responsible for it. 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 offers a useful handout on lateral reading. 

 

 

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 that 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. 

Primary Sources

Below is a link to an article from ProQuest Historical New York Times. It is an interview with Harold Bride, a radio transmitter, who was working aboard the Titanic when it sank. Bride survived and was interviewed days after the event for this article. (You do not need to read the entire article.)

Bride, Harold. "Surviving Wireless Operator of the Titanic. Thrilling Story by Titanic's Surviving Wireless Man. Bride Tells How He and Phillips worked and How He Finished a Stoker Who Tried to Steal Phillips's Life Belt". New York Times (1857-1922), Apr 19, 1912, pp. 1. ProQuest, Accessed 7 May 2021. 

First-hand accounts of events are considered primary sources of information. A secondary source would be someone else describing what Bride experienced. Primary sources are excellent resources for research papers. You may also want to consult primary and secondary sources depending on your assignment. 

Personal interviews may not necessarily be an accurate description of events. Each witness may have a different perspective on the event. Personal emotions, self-identity, or community values may influence perspectives. Consider, for example, when law enforcement officers interview witnesses at the scene of a car accident. Do all witnesses report the same sequence of events? Should as many personal accounts as possible be gathered in an attempt to reconstruct the accident?