6.9: Determining Quality
- Page ID
- 324702
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Now that you know how to identify Timeliness, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose, it's time to determine the quality of your sources! To evaluate your sources you should read them critically, avoid overly simplistic and emotionally charged material, avoid bias, and use the TRAAP test. As you note these different elements in your source you can combine them to get a general idea of the source's overall quality.
Generally, there is no absolute right or wrong to whether or not a source is of good quality. It all depends on your information need. That being said, there are some sources that are generally very poor quality. Think of it like giving the information source a score. You can rate each TRAAP category from 1-5 with 1 being very poor and 5 being excellent. Any category with a 3 is probably questionable for use.
Timeliness
If you're researching a current topic, then an article from 10 years ago might be scored with a 1. However, an article from 3 years ago on a similar incident might still be a 3 or a 4.
Relevance
If you're researching an oil spill and you find a source talking about past oil spills, it could be a 4 or 5 if you want to include historical information. However, if you don't need historical information then it might be notably lower.
Authority
If you find an author with a Ph.D. in environmental science who is talking about oil spills, that might be rated as a 5 in authority. However, a journalist talking about oil spills might be rated lower.
Accuracy
If your source includes citations for their information and presents it in an unbiased way, that might score quite high in accuracy. However, tables or data with no sources at all could be scored very low.
Purpose
Lastly, an article on oil spills published by Shell might be notably biased and perhaps score low on purpose for an informative research assignment. However, you might find another source that has some great information, is written by an independent author, but on a page with a couple ads on it; and rate it at a 3.
As you mentally rate each of these categories you should be able to think about your source and create an average score. Do you feel like your source is a 3 overall? That isn't very good. If it averages to a 4 or a 5, that's probably a good scholarly source!
Validity and Reliability
There are two final elements that'll help you judge the quality of your information sources. Validity and Reliability are terms often used to discuss original research experiments. Reliability refers to the consistency of a method used in research. In other words, if repeated, would it get the same results? For example, if a group of researchers used a questionnaire to ask someone specific questions, but each researcher received different responses, then the questionnaire would have low reliability. Reliability issues can arise from problems related to the clarity of questions being asked in a study, as well as inconsistencies between researchers and how they use the method (such as how they ask questions).
Validity refers to the accuracy of a method used in research. For example, if a research study is using a thermometer to measure temperature but repeated uses shows different temperatures even though all other variables remain the same; then the thermometer has low validity. A study might have low validity if it uses inappropriate methods of measurement, fails to get an appropriate sample of participants, or fails to apply the research methods consistently.
By understanding the basics of validity and reliability you can begin to examine the research methodology used in research studies in order to identify potential problems.
The techniques and procedures used to identify and analyze information about a research topic.