A source can be accurate and still unsuitable for your purpose. Interviews, historical letters, textbooks, and research reports answer different questions. Choosing evidence begins with the specific job you need it to do, not simply whether it appears authoritative.
Name the need
Complete the sentence, I need evidence about. To learn what a policy requires, inspect the policy itself. To understand how families experience it, interviews may help. To estimate how common a difficulty is, seek data with a defined population and collection method. A source can contribute to several needs, but evidence that an experience occurs does not establish how frequent that experience is.
Check the scope
Compare the source with your claim. A small interview project can reveal perspectives without representing a whole country. An older manual may explain a lasting principle while describing an obsolete procedure. Record population, place, date, and method beside useful material. Such notes keep limits visible when writing and reveal where a better-fitting source is needed. Do not equate publication prestige with suitability for every question.
Combine complementary evidence
For a report on library access, combine opening hours, usage records, and patron perspectives. Explain each contribution instead of counting sources as votes. Beginners can use columns for question, source, and limitation. Experienced learners can add missing groups and competing interpretations. A gap calls for targeted searching or a narrower claim, not stretching evidence until it seems to answer something never examined. Revisit original passages before quoting or making precise claims.
Put it into practice
Put it into practice
- Write three information needs within a research question.
- Assign a suitable source type to each.
- Inspect one existing source, identify its best use, and revise a claim currently reaching beyond what it supports.
Sources & further reading
Practical examples and exercises are original StudyMaster learning activities. Read about our editorial approach.