Use the Drama Method and Lateral Reading to evaluate potential research sources:
DRAMA stands for Date, Relevance, Accuracy, Motivation and Authority
Date – When was this material published?
Relevance – Is it relevant to your research?
Accuracy – Is the information presented accurate? A quick lateral reading can tell you if a source is accurate in its representation or not.
Motivation – Why did someone spend time to create this source?
Authority - Who created this material? What is their expertise on the topic? Remember: Anyone can make a webpage or write a blog. Doing a quick search on an author or even the publisher gives a much greater idea if someone should be talking about a topic as if they know all about it, and that allows you to judge credibility.
What is Lateral Reading?
It's a technique to evaluate a source by reading about it on other, trustworthy sites.