Evaluating Information: Assessing Expertise

Investigate the Expert

• What are their academic and professional credentials?
  • Do they work in the field in which they claim expertise?
• What are their institutional and organizational affiliations?
• Do they participate in social media and in what context?
• What is their publication record?
• What is their reputation within the discipline?
• Who sponsors or supports their work?

An excellent discussion about how and why to assess expertise to stop the spread of misinformation and disinformation. Created by the University of Louisville Research Assistance and Instruction.

Online Catalogs & Databases

• Search for their credentials and affiliations. Database records for articles often include affiliation information.
• Try to find additional publications written by the person. Are the publications scholarly or professional?
• If they published a book, does it include any biographical information or affiliations?
• Look for the author's contact information.
• Examine the publisher's credentials.

Websites

Follow a similar strategy to print resources and databases.

• Try searching their name and examine websites to find their credentials.
• If they are associated with a university, review their university profile pages.
• Try to find additional publications written by the person.
• Use a resource such as Google Scholar to find publications. Are other authors citing the article?
• Examine the domain (.gov, .edu, .org, .com) to determine what type of site the information is appearing on.
• Avoid personal websites or blogs.