Evaluating Sources
Video - Credible Sources (4 min. 8 sec.)
Script is a derivative of "Evaluating Sources for Credibility" by Lisa Becksford, NCSU Library, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0
Types of Sources in Theology
Scholarly
Written by scholars to scholars
Commonly use peer-review
Often highly theoretical/philosophical
Ideally inform others types of literature
Slow, slow, slow
Professional
Written by practitioners to practitioners
Sometimes mistaken for other types of sources
Authority by experience
Often faster than academic literature
Popular
For the average person
Can be written by anyone, from amateurs to experts
Often found at a public library
Less jargon, less precision
Primary
Raw data or records; an original source of information with no commentary/analysis
First-hand observations, contemporary accounts, data or test results.
Secondary
Sources that analyze, comment on, or synthesize primary sources.
Often in book or article form
Interpretations, accounts written after the fact, reviews and critiques
Tertiary
Sources that collect and synthesize secondary sources
Offer overviews, points of reference, lists, and tools
Encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, overview reports
Not cited in scholarly literature