Way to go: you've gathered a big set of articles, books, and documents from your research.
In fact... it may be too big.
You'll find that some articles better support your thesis than others. Evaluating your sources will help you separate the stronger ones from the weaker ones. (Or the bad ones.) Below are some resources to help your evaluation.
Currency
Relevance
Authority
Point of View
Purpose
When evaluating any of the sources you encounter in your research, consider the following questions before deciding to include them.
Currency
Is the copyright or publication date current?
If the material is dated, justification should be included for using outdated material.
Is the material to be used for background or historical purposes?
Relevance
How is this document useful to your research?
How does it directly relate to the research that you are investigating?
Authority
Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor? What are the credentials of the author/publisher/source/sponsor? What is the author’s occupation, position, titles, education, experience, etc.? Is the author/publisher/
source/sponsor qualified (or not) to write on this subject?
Does the source provide accurate information (cite its sources) and is it trustworthy?
Point of View
Does the author/publisher/source/sponsor have a bias or make assumptions within the source? Does the author have a hidden agenda? Is the source trying to sell you something, or is it trying to persuade you to think a certain way? Is it fact or opinion?
Purpose
What is the purpose for writing this document or doing this research?
What is the thesis of the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
This comprehensive video created by North Carolina State University Libraries demonstrates what makes a source credible and explains why credible sources are needed to support your thesis.
The following videos* can help you figure out key differences between source types. Understanding these differences will play an important role in knowing what type of source to provide and when.
*Created by the librarians and content creators at Vanderbilt University Library and the Hartness Library of Vermont Tech and the Community College of Vermont, respectively.
Guess what: there's a lot of bad information out there. Making sure you don't include it in your paper is an important part of the evaluation process.
Fake news is material disseminated online that is one or more of following:
You will find more infographics at Statista
Disinformation is a broader term that encompasses all examples of deliberately false or misleading information. It differs from misinformation, which refers to information that is inaccurate but not necessarily maliciously so. (Central Washington University)
These sites were designed to establish the truth of "facts" spread rapidly around the web.