MESH: Engineering, Sustainability, and Health: Evaluating Resources

The difference between primary and secondary sources typically deals with the level of analytics that separates the source from the initial raw data.

Secondary sources are what most students use for research projects. These sources include:

• journal articles

• textbooks

• dictionaries

• political commentary

• dissertations

Primary sources are sources that don't divulge any analysis. These sources include:

• diaries

• correspondence

• original documents

• autobiographies

• interviews

• legislation

• government documents

• statistical data

• creative works

For example, creating a survey for an analysis that you're conducting would be a primary source, however the article you publish with this analysis is a secondary source.

CRAAP is a great method for evaluating the quality of sources.

• Currency: is the timeliness of the resource appropriate for your research topic?

• Relevance: is this resource applicable to your research topic? Can you apply it to push the narrative forward?

• Authority: is the source that they get their information reliable? Who is the author? Do they have the necessary qualifications to be speaking on their topic?

• Accuracy: is the author's narrative supported by evidence? Has it been reviewed?

• Purpose: is the author publishing this information with any bias? What was the purpose of this resource?