Social Work 320w, Research Guide, Yuma: Home

 Evaluating Resources

 1) What is a credible source, and what is it not? Credible means the information is from an authoritative source.  A credible source can be either a primary source (usually written in the first person) or a secondary source)

 a) A credible source is …

• A peer-reviewed journal article.
• A website of a governmental organization such as  Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS)
• A website of a relief organization that might collect its own data (World Bank, UNICEF, etc.)
• A primary source such as a diary

            b) What a credible source is NOT…

• A newspaper or magazine article (Newspaper and magazine articles are NOT peers in the discipline)
• Content posted in a .com (...usually – there are some exceptions.)
  An editorial, commentary, book review, or abbreviated article in a journal.  (Not all articles in a peer reviewed journal are peer-reviewed)
• A blog (Content is based on opinions.)
• Content from Wikipedia (any person can post to Wikipedia)