Source evaluation of scientific sources

There are two basic things to consider when assessing the reliability of research:

Implementation – Is the method (how the research was done) clearly described? You may also want to consider if any study described seems to have been well thought out and executed.

Conclusions – Can you tell that the conclusion is based on the results of the study? The conclusion must be easy to follow in relation to the data presented in the results section.

Are there more recent sources that confirm or contradict the study you found?

You always want to use the newest information possible. At the same time, different scientific fields have different standards for using older information. Don’t forget that you get a better understanding of a subject by looking at old sources as well as new ones. That way you get an overview of how the subject has been described over time, and how the research has developed.

Even if the information you have found is up-to-date and reliable, it’s a good idea to think about if and how it is actually relevant for your research questions or assignment.

It may be worth checking if the research has been used by other researchers. If so, it will have been cited (used as a reference) in other publications. One way you can check this is by using one of the databases Web of Science or Scopus. If you want more information about how this process works, you can always contact the library.

It’s always important to consider how the research in question has been cited. Do other researchers criticize it? Or highlight it as something good, worth taking a closer look at? It’s also important to remember that if an article is new, other researchers won’t have had the time to use it yet, and so it won’t have received any citations.