How to Evaluate Sources

Evaluating the Timeliness and Comprehensiveness of a Magazine or Newspaper Article

Both timeliness and comprehensiveness of your sources are important in research writing projects. In this demonstration, we'll again follow student writer Aaron Batty as he evaluates an article from the news source BBC News.

The importance of timeliness—when a source was published—varies according to your research writing situation. If your research project would benefit from sources that have recently been published, evaluate recently published sources more highly than dated sources. In most cases, you should strive to use the most current sources possible. Use older materials only when their value has held up over time or if your research focuses on a particular period earlier than the recent past.

The BBC News article Aaron evaluated was published on March 18, 2000, which was right before Aaron began writing his research project. Because Aaron's project was about the current and historical relations of China and Taiwan, the timeliness of the article was important. In writing his project, Aaron also relied on sources that had more historical value. One such source was an historical document, containing the policies for the unification of China, published in 1991.

Comprehensiveness refers to the extent to which a source provides a complete and balanced view of a topic. Some sources are considered to be general; that is, they are written for an audience of non-specialists. Newspapers and popular magazines typically provide general information about a topic or issue. Other sources are highly specialized; that is, they are written for an audience of specialists, such as microbiologists, mortgage bankers, or auto mechanics.

The importance of comprehensiveness varies according to the specific demands of your research writing situation. As you determine the comprehensiveness of your source, ask yourself the following questions:

1. How specialized is the information in the source?
2. Does the source provide a broad overview of an issue?
3. Does it focus on a narrow topic using highly specialized jargon?
4. Will your audience be able to understand key terms from the source?
5. Do you understand the key ideas in the source?

The BBC News article Aaron evaluated for the purposes of this demonstration is a general source for a general audience. Such general sources can be helpful as you begin your research, but as Aaron realized later in the project, he needed the authority of more specialized sources, such as those found in scholarly or professional journals.