Critical Thinking

Chapter 12
Finding, Evaluating, and Using
Sources

McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2013 McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved.

 General Purpose
 This chapter improves your ability to write research
papers.
 The ability to research is needed for…
 …nearly every profession that requires a college degree.
 …everyday life (hiring contractor or lawyer, investing in the
stock market, voting, deciding on entertainment).
 …your own intellectual pursuits.
• Being an informed member of society.
• Developing your own arguments on important issues.
 But remember, not all evidence is good evidence.

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 Finding Sources
 We have access to a lot of information, learn to
refine your search.
 Ask specific questions
• To identify the questions you need to ask, sometimes it’s
helpful to write your own argument, and then figure out
what question you need to answer to figure out if your
premises are true.
 Use directional material to guide you to
informational material.

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 Directional Information
 Bibliographies: Lists of books or publications.
 These can be found in libraries or online (see list on p. 345-
6)
 Indexes and Databases: These are often lists of books
and works by topic (e.g., The Philosophers Index). Often
they include the works themselves.
 Internet Search Engines, Guides, and Directories:
 Learn to restrict your search, so you don’t have to go
through so many pages to find what you need. “Yahoo” and
“about.com” are good.
 Also serious discussion groups (e.g., groups.google.com)
are good, and can lead you in the right direction.
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 Informational Sources
 Encyclopedias, online or not, are good for basic information and
introductions to topics.
 They also have bibliographies that can point you in the right direction.
 Be careful of “editable” ones (e.g., Wikipedia). Not everything is checked
before it is posted; read with a careful eye.
 Almanacs, Yearbooks, Fact Books, etc., are good for answering
uncomplicated questions.
 e.g., “How many American’s are on Social Security?”
 Biographical Sources are good for finding information on specific
persons.
 Dictionaries: general as well as specific dictionaries (e.g., legal
dictionaries, slang, philosophy, math, film) are also useful.
 www.onelook.com indexes more than 600 online dictionaries.
 Government Documents have everything from biographical information
on congress members to advice for repairing a home. firstgov.gov is a
good place to start. 12-5
 Informational Sources
 Human Sources
 Instead of wondering around for hours, ask the
librarian (that is what they are trained for).
 Faculty members, local experts, government
officials, etc. can help answer questions within their
area.
• Always have questions ready when you go into an
interview of an expert. Make sure they are precise and
categorized (fact and opinion questions).

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 Evaluating Sources

 Content: Facts and Everything Else

 The Author and the Publisher

 The Audience

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 Content: Facts and
Everything Else
 Separate facts from everything else (such as falsehoods and opinions).
 Separate verified and documented facts from other kinds of facts (the
unverified and the unverifiable).
 Don’t just assume that what people call “facts” are facts.
 e.g., Freud (p. 352); Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code)
 Watch out for “false appearances” of being well documented.
 Instead of simply citing a survey’s conclusion, quote the survey and give
details of how it was given (let the reader decide if it was biased).
 Be careful of “cherry-picked” evidence (where the author uses true
information that supports his/her claims but leaves out other true
information that would debunk his/her claims).
 Biased language can reveal an author’s biases and give good reason for
suspicion of their claims.
 Check the dates of information.

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 The Author and the
Publisher
 Something being written or published doesn’t make it true; we must
ascertain if the author or publisher is reliable.
 What is the Author’s Background?
 Usually you need an author who is educated in the relevant area
(although there are exceptions).
 Make sure you get good authors on both sides of the issue (not just your
own).
 What are the Author's Bias and Purpose?
 A pamphlet published by the Tobacco Institute may not be the most
credible source for information on the effects of second hand smoke.
The same would be true of a pamphlet published by anti-smoking
organizations (e.g., “thetruth.com”).
 Double check possible biased material, or find non-biased sources.
 What are the Author’s Sources?
 Make sure the Author’s sources aren’t biased.
 Make sure the Author uses them in non-biased ways (e.g., not leaving
out information that might hurt his/her argument).
 Who is the Publisher or Sponsor? (Be careful with Websites). 12-9
 The Audience
 Who is the intended audience?
 If the intended audience of a work is not college educated,
it probably won’t work (except as a starting place) for a
college research paper.
 If the intended audience already shares the conclusion of
the publication (like subscribes to a conservative talk show
host’s news letter), suspicion is called for.
 How has the audience responded?
 If a work written for a group was not received well by that
group, it probably is not a great source.
 Book reviews are a good way to find this information.
 Of course, works may not be well received by some
audiences because the author is trying to correct mistakes
in the audience’s thinking (and the audience is not
receptive even though the author is right). 12-10
 Taking Notes
 Be sure to be selective with your note taking (when
reading, don’t highlight every other sentence).
 Bibliographical Information: write down the author, title,
publisher, etc. for each text.
 Content Notes:
 Quotations: Make sure to get it exact. Material omitted for
brevity gets ellipsis points (…). Added material used to
clarify goes in brackets [like this].
 Summaries: identify thesis and supporting points (see
chapter 7)
 Paraphrasing: restate the argument in your own words (see
chapter 7)
 Always be sure to read many times over. 12-11
 Using Sources
 Acknowledging Sources:
 Don’t Plagiarize: blatantly copying or paraphrasing without effort to
acknowledge the source.
 What doesn’t need citation: well known facts and quotes.
 What needs citation: direct quotes, statistics, surveys, obscure facts,
unique descriptions or examples, any ideas that are not your own.
 Incorporating Sources:
 Quoting Words and Phrases: incorporate exact words or phrases into
your writing, using quotation marks (“”).
 Quoting and paraphrasing longer passages:
• Introduce the passage to provide context and sometimes bibliographical
information.
• If you paraphrase, make sure that you are paraphrasing (and where your
paraphrase begins) is clear.
 Block Quotations: If a quote is more than 50 words, omit quotation
marks, maintain double spacing, and indent the left margin five spaces.
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