No matter what type of source you would like to use, what format it is in (print, web, or multimedia), or where you find it, there are many questions you can ask as you evaluate your sources. 

Purpose

• Can you determine why the source was published?
• Is this source seeking to persuade, provide an opinion, or sell something?
• Can you determine the intended audience?

Author/Creator

• Is the author/creator of the source identified?
• Does the author/creator have credentials that are relevant to the topic?
• Can you easily find out more about the author? (Try Google)

Publisher 

• Can you determine who published the source?
• Is the publisher a for-profit company?
• Does this publisher have a known editorial bias or stance? (Look for an "About" or "About Us" section)

Sources Cited 

• Does the author/creator cite or reference their sources?
• Are things taken out of context or misrepresented? 

Relevancy 

• Is the information current?
• Does the scope of the information align with your topic?
• Is most of the source content relevant to your topic?

Worried your source is too subjective? Ask it a few questions!

What is the source trying to do?

• All writing has a purpose. Is your source trying to inform readers or provoke certain emotions?
• One way to know is by looking at the headlines. They should tell you something important about their attached stories, not just bait your curiosity.

How does is sound?

• Does it use judgment words? Lines like "the bleeding-heart liberal media" or "gun-crazy Republicans" betray an author's bias. 
• Is the language otherwise loaded to create a negative impression of the issue. "Death tax" feels different than "Estate tax," for example. 

What is the context? 

• Is your source giving the whole picture?
• Does it provide a history of its issue and an overview of its most affected parties, or does it offer only enough details to support one interpretation?

What are the sources?

• Does your source provide any of its own sources? If so, do they all point to one conclusion?
• There is more than one side to any issue—a source with balanced bias will try to reflect that.

Is it real?

• Discussion of "fake" news has become more prevalent in the past decade. Evaluate your sources to make sure it comes from a reputable publisher. 

Bias is an inevitable part of all writing but it is important to be aware of how it might color the information a writer is presenting. In general, it is best for academic writing to avoid explicit bias. 

However, there is a place for consideration of consciously subjective writing. Editorials, blogs, and other less-scholarly sources can be useful for getting a sense of how regular people feel about an issue. 

There are organizations devoted to exposing bias in media. For example, FAIR is a "national media watch group...offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986." Click here to read more tips from FAIR on detecting bias.

Step 1: Review Database Record 

Read each part of the database record to find information on the credibility of your source. Remember, looking at the database record can only give you so much information. Always take the extra step to Google the author, learn about the publication, and skim the source itself before deciding whether to use it.

Clicking the title of the source will open a Publication Details page.

Step 3: Look at the Full Text of the Source

Opening the full article will give some additional information beyond what the database provides, including the full text of the article to read.

Step 4: Search for the Author

A Google search of the first author listed gives a professional summary, including his educational background and other publications.