How to Evaluate Sources

How to Evaluate a Magazine or Newspaper Article

As you read magazine and newspaper articles, it is important that you consider how well they meet your needs as a research writer and how reliably they present their information. In the demonstrations found below, we'll follow the progress of Aaron Batty, a student writer who created a Web site about current and historical relations between China and Taiwan, as he evaluated a newspaper article to decide whether to use it as a source in his research writing project.

During his research, Aaron found a BBC News article on the 2000 Taiwanese election entitled "Dilemma for China," at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/682068.stm. To follow Aaron's progress as he evaluated this article and to learn how to evaluate a magazine or newspaper article in your own research, follow the links below:

• Evaluating Relevance
• Evaluating Evidence
• Evaluating the Author
• Evaluating the Publisher
• Evaluating Timeliness and Comprehensiveness