8.2 Finding and Evaluating Sources

Notes

Good research depends on good sources.

• Primary sources are firsthand evidence (letters, speeches, interviews, original documents). Secondary sources interpret or analyze primary ones (biographies, journal articles, textbooks).
• Library databases and scholarly journals are usually more reliable than random websites. Check the author, publisher and date.
• The CRAAP test: Currency (is it up to date?), Relevance, Authority (who is the author?), Accuracy (is it supported by evidence?), Purpose (inform, sell, persuade?).
• Use lateral reading: leave the page and check what other reliable sources say about the author or site.
• Worked example: A transcript of Lincoln's speech is a primary source; a historian's book about the speech is a secondary source.