Validity
It can be difficult to judge the validity of information in a discipline in which you are not familiar. Consider the following:
- Does the train of thought and ideas expressed in the information source make sense, or does it contradict itself?
- How much information does the author provide about how they obtained their data? Are the research methods and data collection techniques used to support the information valid in the discipline?
- Have counter arguments and alternative explanations been acknowledged and considered?
- If there is a bibliography or reference list, are the authors experts in that field?
- If sources such as statistics are used to support an argument, are they collated from reliable sources?
- Has the information been reviewed by an expert in the field? If the information source is a journal article, has it been through a peer review process?
- What are the advantages or disadvantages of relying on a native speaker scholar’s viewpoint of another culture, as opposed to an “outsider’s” viewpoint?
