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HSS 495 Final Research Paper: Using Sources

Evaluating Sources

Information can come from anywhere, anyone, and for any purpose, which means that critical evaluation is an essential part of your research process--particularly when researching a controversy. The CRITICAL guide helps determine if a source is appropriate and prompt you to think about how your search for, select, and engage you research materials.

C.R.I.T.I.C.A.L.

Credibility
  • Is the information fact, opinion, or propaganda? Facts can be verified through comparison to several sources. Opinions evolve from the interpretation of facts.
  • Are the author's conclusions or facts supported with references? 
  • Do the authors / sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
Relevance
  • Is the information within the scope of your topic? Refer back to your research question or central goal.
  • Does it offer new perspectives (e.g., historical, political, cultural, social, racial, gender, sexual)
  • Does it offer different voices, conflicting viewpoints, or other ways of knowing?
  • Please be aware that library collections encompass works that portray offensive perspectives, serving to document them as evidentiary sources and facilitate ongoing critical analysis of the past and present.
Intention
  • Why was the source written?
  • Was the author's purpose to inform, persuade, or to refute a particular idea or point of view? 
  • Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?
Timelines
  • Is the date of publication appropriate for your topic?
  • Is currency important or are historical perspectives needed?
  • Does your work need a chronology of events over time?
  • Is it important to include seminal works, regardless of date?
I-EDIAA
  • Does the source bring an equity lens to the topic?
  • Are aspects of I-EDIAA addressed? (Indigeneity, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Anti-Racism, and Accessibility)
  • Does the author present multiple viewpoints or is it biased?
  • Does the author situate their own positionality? (i.e., their privilege through race, education, income, ability, gender, etc. as a means of framing their research interpretations)
Coverage
  • Does the source address your topic in depth, only partially, or is it an broad overview? Different levels can be useful.
  • Is the source a useful as a single example or case?
  • Does the source add new information or update other sources?
  • Can the source be cited to substantiate or refute other resources that you have consulted?
Authority
  • Consider the author's background, writings, experience, and positionality.
  • There are subject authorities beyond those writing in scholarly journals. For example, Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers are recognized for their expertise.
  • Is the author associated with an organization, institution, cultural, or community group?
  • Who is the publisher? Does it represent the views of specific groups?
  • How is the writing acknowledged by others in the field or community? How do critical reviews rate the work?
  • Are some types of references privileged over others? Does the information draw on collective expertise from a diverse group?
  • Who benefits or is empowered from this perspective?
Level
  • What is the reading and analysis level of the source?
  • Does it align with your knowledge of the subject?
  • What level of evidence is provided in terms of citations or data? 
  • Is the resource intended for the general public, scholars, or professionals?

from Queen's University Library

Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a type of cheating that involves the use of another person's ideas, words, design, art, music, etc., as one's own in whole or in part without acknowledging the author or obtaining his or her permission. Plagiarism is not just restricted to written text, but is applicable to other works such as ideas, design, art, and music.

Types of Plagiarism

Plagiarism can occur in many ways:

  • Direct plagiarism
  • Direct "patchwork" plagiarism
  • Insufficient citation of partial quotations
  • Paraphrasing (or summarizing) without citing sources
  • Insufficient citation of paraphrase (or summary)
  • Plagiarism of graphs, charts, figures, or images
  • Misinterpretation of material as "common knowledge"

Tips on Avoiding Plagiarism

Avoiding plagiarism requires good writing skills. Although extensive advice on writing skills is beyond the scope of this module, below you will find some writing tips to help you get started on the right track.

  1. Learn the principles of good writing so you have the necessary skills to express your ideas with your own words. Poor writing skills often result in unintentional plagiarism.
  2. Learn how to paraphrase a source with your own words. After you have finished reading something, set it aside, write it in your own words, compare it with what you read earlier in the source document, and refine your writing. Make sure to cite the source document.
  3. Learn how to cite sources properly. Choose a citation style (such as APA, MLA, or Chicago) that is suitable for your discipline and familiarize yourself with it fully. You may also find examples of citation styles in journals specific to your discipline.
  4. Learn what plagiarism is and what it is not. Learn how to detect it. After you have paraphrased a source, identify words or phrases in what you have written that appear to be similar to those in the source. You can highlight such words or phrases in your own writing and decide if they should be within quotes or should be expressed differently with your own words.
  5. Don't assume what you know is "common knowledge" for everyone—it may not be. You may need to cite some things you think are "common knowledge."
  6. Don't misinterpret or manipulate what was intended in a source to suit your needs. This applies not only to text, but also to charts, graphs, images, music, and video.
  7. When using citations gleaned from secondary sources, make sure those citations actually exist and find out what was really conveyed in those cited sources so that you are not reproducing someone else's misinterpretation.
  8. Obtain permission from authors when using large portions of their text and give them due credit in your writing.
  9. Make use of the help available from the Library, Writing Center, online resources, and, of course, your teacher.
  10. When in doubt, put the text within quotes and include citations.