Library Research Tutorials

Authority is Constructed and Contextual

A core concept in the evaluation of any source is that authority is constructed and contextual. But what does that mean? It means that we, as a society, decides what makes someone an authority (constructed) on a subject and that an expert in one subject is not an expert in all topics (contextual). Traditionally, we base an author’s credibility on if their writing is peer reviewed, their academic credentials (degrees and positions), or affiliations with large organizations or Universities. However, there are other types of authority that you can (and should) consult in your research.  

For example, if your research topic was the Houston Astros cheating scandal at the 2017 World Series, you can find studies published by academics discussing the topic (subject expertise), news articles of interviews from the Major League Baseball (societal position), as well as social media or blogs or interviews from athletes (special experience). All these sources of authority may include personal or professional biases, falsehoods, or inaccurate information. This means that while you can and should expand your definition of 'authority', you still need to critically evaluate all types of authority and the information they are sharing. This section of the module should help you build these skills.

When starting your research, pull your information (when possible) from all three types of authority. 

What does "Peer Reviewed" mean?

You will hear the phrase "peer reviewed" over and over again in your assignments. But what does it mean? A peer reviewed article is an article that has gone through the peer reviewed process. This process is where experts in a field review and evaluate a manuscript prior to its publication. It is a strong indicator of a credible source and quality scholarship. The peer review process takes years to navigate and, therefore, there will always be a long delay between an event and scholarly publication. Additionally, be careful of imposter articles. Not everything inside a peer reviewed journal is peer reviewed. Some journals also include editorials and letters, which are not peer-reviewed. The format of these sources (reviews and letters) usually makes them easy to distinguish from peer reviewed articles in the journal. However, if you are unsure, check with a librarian.

Peer-Reviewed articles are often considered the "gold standard" of academic sources and your professor will often ask you to cite them. While these sources are important and useful, these materials are authored almost solely by academics. Review the information above on how authority is constructed and contextual. If you only rely on peer-reviewed sources, whose voices are being left out of the conversation and your research?

The Peer Review Process Explained

• A researcher performs a study or researches a topic and writes a paper.
• The researcher submits the paper to an editor from a peer-reviewed journal.
• If accepted, the journal's editor sends the article out anonymously to experts in the field and they provide feedback, criticism, or concerns on the article.
• The researcher makes the corrections and resubmits it to the article.
• The journal editor can then again choose to reject or publish the article.

Image Credit: "The Peer Review Process" from UC Berkeley's Understanding Science.

The CRAAP Test

The CRAAP Test is a method for evaluating sources, which has you evaluate a source by answering questions based on five categories. These categories are easy to remember with the CRAAP acronym:

• C = Currency
• R = Relevance
• A = Authority
• A = Accuracy
• P = Purpose

Tip: Context is everything. Do not look at these categories as immediate yes/no or good/bad evaluations of a source. Instead, look at these questions as ways to understand the broader context of a source and how it can or should be used in your research.

Currency: The timeliness of the information

• When was the information created and/or published?
• Does the date matter for your research?
• Context: Older sources can contain outdated information. However, sometimes those sources are important for background information or because they are foundational studies on a topic. Additionally, sometimes your topic requires you to have historical perspectives on a topic, such as a historiography. Your research topic context is important when understanding the timeliness of a source.
• Tip: Find this information in copyright dates (books), publication dates (articles, newspapers), posting dates (websites, social media), updated/revised dates (websites)

Relevance: How the information fits your needs.

• Is this a good source for you and your topic of question?
• Scope: Is it too broad or narrow to be helpful?
• Audience: Who is the intended audience?
• Tip: The goal of this step is to understand if a source is useful to your research before you read the entire source. If you are looking at a book, look at the table of contents, index, or a review before sitting down to read part or all the book. If you are looking at an article, look at the abstract, first paragraph, and final paragraph before reading the entire source.

Authority: The source of the information.

• Who is the author? What are their credentials or affiliations?
• What type of authority is the author? (scholarly expertise, societal position, special experience)
• Are they qualified to write on this subject?
• Tip: There are many ways to check the authority of a source: look up information on the journal, author’s blurb on magazines and websites, the ‘About the Author’ section in the back of a book, or the ‘About Us’ section of a website. However, it is often better to see what others say about a source. Here are two tricks on how to do that:
  • Just Add Wikipedia: search the main website URL, organization, or person’s name and add Wikipedia to an Internet search.
  • Web Searching: If the author, organization, or publisher does not have a Wikipedia entry, try performing an Internet search with the organization or person’s name with -site:www.organizationsdomain.com this will bring up websites mentioning the organization but will exclude the organization’s website from your search results.
• Tip: Domain names provide contextual information on the source's creation, it does not the final guarantee that a source is credible or not. Educational sites (.edu) and government sites (.gov) can include peer-reviewed authoritative information as well as personal websites for officials and employees. Be very wary of organizational (.org) websites because anyone can purchase this domain and every organization should be investigated before using their information in your research.

Accuracy: The reliability and correctness of the information.

• Is this fact or opinion?
• Can other sources verify this information?
• What is the author or publishers’ worldviews or biases (political, ideological, religious…)?
• Are there references or other ways to verify the information?
• Context: All authors have a bias. What is important is to understand what is your source’s bias? Discern if they are trying to hide their bias, and how that bias impacts your research.

Purpose: The reason the information exists.

• What is the source’s agenda? What is the source trying to do? (inform, education, influence, entertain, sell…)
• How is the source written (is the language calm or provocative)?
• Are all sides of a topic or debate represented in the source (balanced)?
• Context: All sources have an agenda. What is important is to understand what your source’s agenda is and how that impacts your research. Context is critical.