Primary Sources

Whether using primary or secondary sources, in print or online, an essential step in the research process is evaluating your sources.  Good scholarship requires careful reading and critical analysis of information.

Basic evaluation criteria for all sources include include the following questions:

Author Authority 

• Who created the item? 
• What is his or her affiliation? 

Audience and Purpose

• Who is the intended audience? 
• Why was the item created?

Accuracy and Completeness

• Is the evidence reliable? 
• Are the important points covered? 
• How does the source compare to other similar sources? 
• What may have been left out?

Perspective and Bias

How do the author's bias and perspective inform the arguments and evidence presented?

Adapted from The Information-Literate Historian by Jenny L. Presnell (New York:  Oxford University Press, 2007):

Image: "Take Along a Book."  (191-) 1 print (poster) : color ; 53 x 34 cm. Call Number: POS - US .N65, no. 2 (B size) [P&P].  Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.  Bookmark:  http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002720076/

For additional information on evaluating primary sources:

• Primary Sources: Evaluating: Lafayette College Libraries
• Using Primary Sources on the Web - Reference & User Services Association -- History Section