What if My Sources Aren't Peer Reviewed?

There’s more to research than just peer-reviewed articles! Using a variety of sources is important in any research project. Popular sources, such as magazines and newspapers, can provide background information, more up-to-date, timely content, and a wider variety of perspectives than peer-reviewed articles. And social media, such as blogs and Tweets, are valuable sources of information as well. 

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When using these sources, approach them with a critical lens and look for evidence of the factors below. We’ll also provide some useful source evaluation strategies later in the module. 

 

Credibility/Authority

What questions would you ask to determine if an article is credible? Would you do a quick Google search on the author? What is their expertise? What organization do they represent? These are all important questions to ask when you are placing any information in your paper. 

 

Bias 

Bias can be defined as a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment or prejudice. All sources have some level of bias, but how do we assess bias in the work we use? Here are some questions you might want to consider when choosing sources to reference in your research:

• Is the information presented to sway the audience to a particular point of view?
• Who is missing in this conversation? 
• What are some implicit and explicit biases that you notice?

Evaluate the terms you used to get your search results. Are you using language that has inherent bias? What does that say about the results? 

 

Expertise 

What does it mean to be an “expert?” Experience can come in many different ways. An Ethnic Studies professor who specializes in the Great Migration in the United States would probably be considered an expert on that topic. However, there could also be individuals with firsthand knowledge of the Great Migration who do not have a degree or experience in academia. Both sources of information can be considered credible as long as the information they share is appropriate to their experience.

A good way to think about this is by imagining that the authors of your sources are people speaking on a panel about your topic. You might ask yourself, who is missing? Are certain voices or perspectives over- or under-represented?