This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. Search this Guide Search. What is a Reliable Source? Who Decides a Source is Reliable? Types of Reliable Sources A reliable source is one that provides a thorough, well-reasoned theory, argument, discussion, etc. Trade or professional articles or books - written by practitioners in a field to impart practice-oriented information.
Some may also be found through Google or other search engine, but may require payment to see the full text. Your Librarian. UGA Libraries. When was it written? What kind of document is it? Where was it published? How widely was it circulated? What is it about? Put it in its context. What events had happened or were happening when this was written? Specifically, what was happening where this was written? Who was the intended audience and what bias might they have had?
Consider the author and their purpose. Who was the author? Consider their race, gender, religion, nationality, heritage, party affiliation, socio-economic class, and their job. Is there bias? Is the author trying to persuade, incite, enlighten, explain or deceive their audience? Why was it written and for whom?
Was the author paid to write this? Or bribed or threatened? Where did it first appear: a newspaper, a diary, a letter or a propaganda flyer? Evaluate the information. Read the information, summarize it, and identify keywords, examples of bias and intention. Are there footnotes or citations? Does it reference other documents or events?
What is the document about and how does that help you understand the period? What is the overall theme? How similar is it to other documents from the same period? How does the author claim to have their information?
What assumptions does the author make? Is the author expecting any resulting action, sentiment or opinion from the audience? Was the artist an eyewitness or is this image secondary? Who created it? When was it created? What medium is it? What is it portraying? Who would have seen this image? What events had happened or were happening when this was created? Specifically, what was happening where this was created?
How long after the actual event portrayed was the image created? Who was the artist? Consider their race, gender, religion, nationality, heritage, political point of view, socio-economic class, and their job. Are certain people or places portrayed in a more positive light? Is the artist trying to persuade, incite, explain to or deceive their audience? Why was this image created and for whom?
Was the artist paid to do his work? What does that tell you? Look at the image, understand what is being portrayed, and identify the main focus and points of interest. Is there a caption or a title? Is it captured in a particular style? If yes, what associations can you make with this style? What does the scenery, the action, the people and the details tell you about this period in time?
How similar is it to other images from the same period? If it is unusual for its period, why might the artist have chosen to be different? Is the author expecting any resulting action, feeling or opinion from the audience? Reliability is a source evaluation skill which asks you to draw a conclusion about the trustworthiness of a source.
R eliability of sources evaluates whether they are trustworthy. It is important that the sources you use in your assessment pieces are reliable so that the quotes you use from them can be trusted. Extremely - Very — Somewhat — Rarely — Not very. For example, we can say that a source is "extremely reliable", or "not very reliable". A judgement of reliability requires three elements:. This source is very reliable because it was written by a professional historian.
As the author was present at the event , his record of it is likely to be very trustworthy. Based upon what you discovered in your analysis of the source, the reasons provided to establish reliability can be based upon any of the following:. T he creator is someone who can be trusted. For example, an eyewitness or an academic expert. The type of source is particularly valuable. For example, a personal letter or an academic journal. The creator has a specific perspective on the topic.
For example, a particular nationality or career. The source was created at an important point in time regarding the event. For example, it was made on the same day. The intended audience of the source is particularly important. For example, those who would have known key details. The specific purpose of the source was to record specific information about the topic. Source A is a very reliable source regarding the experience of Australian troops at Gallipoli because it is a letter was written by John Smith , an Australian soldier who was personally involved in the event itself.
This source was written a few days after the Gallipoli landing on the 25th of April and was intended to be a recount of his experiences to be read by his family in Australia. When using information from sources to prove your own argument, you need to be able to use sources that are reliable. If you have found a source which you discover to be unreliable, the best advice would be not to use the source.
However, if the source is too relevant to your topic that you cannot use another, use a different evaluation skill to argue for why you are using it, rather than simply arguing that the source is unreliable. Based upon what you discovered in your analysis of the source, you can establish its unreliability based upon any of the following:.
T he creator of the source was not present at the time of the event. The source has not been fact-checked by an educated audience. Demonstrating source reliability in your writing:. This source is mostly reliable regarding factory conditions in the Industrial Revolution because the creator lived next to a major industrial facility during the 19 th century.
As a result, the information provided can be considered very reliable. Demonstrating source unreliability in your writing:.
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