Q. What is a credible or reliable source?

There is a lot of information and misinformation out there. To do well in your classes or even be well informed in your personal life, you should always question whether something you read is a credible or reliable source of information before you believe what you see, hear, or read. 

What do we mean by a credible or reliable source?

A credible or reliable source is one where you can trust the information that the source provides. You can rely on the information provided within the source because the person, publisher, or institution that is providing this information is a credible source for that information. When looking at a source of information it is important to remove any preconceived ideas or biases that you may have and think critically about who created the information, whether that person is qualified to discuss that particular topic or not, and any motive that might influence what is being shared.   

How do scholarly sources fit into this? 

Determining whether a source is credible is different from assessing whether a source is scholarly or not. Scholarly sources serve a particular purpose and that is to continue the conversation between experts in the field. These sources are written by experts for other experts or people who are studying the field at an academic level. So the audience is students such as yourself, faculty, and other people studying the topic at a higher level. They are not written for the general public so they expect that the reader has a level of understanding of the topic you will not find in non-scholarly sources. They share the latest research and results of studies and are credible sources of information.  

Why is a scholarly source considered credible?

A "scholarly resource" describes a type of resource (usually a journal article or a book) that is written by an expert in a field of study or subject. Many of these resources, particularly journal articles, go through a rigorous process to be published. The information in the article must be verified by other experts in the same field before it gets published. This process is referred to as "peer reviewed."  Because the information is written by experts and verified by other experts, scholarly resources are considered the most appropriate resources to use at the college level. Also, these articles often report the process and the results of studies conducted by the authors. If you have ever seen or heard anything that stated "studies show...." -  these articles are those studies. 

Non Scholarly Sources

Most sources of information are not scholarly. Most books and articles published are not written for a scholarly purpose. Some Journal articles and books can be scholarly, but other sources such as articles in trade journals, newspapers, magazines, and websites (including government websites) are not considered scholarly. However, the information in newspapers, magazines, and websites can be reliable, so occasionally as long as the source providing the information is credible or reliable these are okay to use when conducting academic research, but if you are required to use a certain number of scholarly sources these will not fit that criteria.

How can I determine if a source is credible?

When evaluating websites to know what you can trust and use for college-level work, We recommend something called the CRAAPO test. The CRAAPO test shows you what you can look for to determine if the source is something you should rely on. Some of the criteria that you want to evaluate before you trust a source of information for your school work and even in your daily life are the currency, relevancy, authority, accuracy, purpose, and objectivity of the website in question.

Here is also a short interactive tutorial we created about Evaluating Sources, including websites. It should give some good tips and cover the CRAAPO test as well.

Another method that can assist you in determining the trustworthiness of a source is SIFT. This guide provides you with essential fact-checking skills to help you determine the credibility and trustworthiness of the information found online. SIFT is an acronym that stands for: stop, investigate the source, find additional coverage, and trace to the original.

Keep in mind, that it is important to remove your prejudices from this process. Your preconceived notions and biases can cloud your ability to think critically about information.  You only want to use information that can be verified and is from a trusted source that has established credibility and reliability.  

If you still have questions you can chat in real time with a librarian here.