Credible Source Material (Pt 2)
Why do you have to know something about an author? For instance, if you wanted an open-minded writing on economics and how to be successful in the market, you wouldn't want something by Karl Marx, no matter how well supported it was. Find a biography on your author, if you can. Try to determine if he or she has any discernable bias. If any of you used to read my Medieval England and Vikings topic here at Suite101, you'd know, by my open admission, that I was pro-Anglo-Saxon in my bias in some of the articles. A strong bias can serve to show facts which only support an author's agenda. That's not a good thing when you want an accurate picture of a topic. Another thing to look at is where the author got published. Which would likely be a more reliable publisher for a book on North American Plains Indians: University of North Dakota or His Royal Majesty's Ministry on Computer Studies? That's exaggerated, but you should see my point. When was the book published? A book on the American Civil War published in 1866 would be very close to the topic, perhaps a bit emotional. This would be a primary source.
Primary sources are first-hand accounts, or very nearly first-hand. They give the most accurate information, but they might be biased by contemporary politics and emotion. They might have even been written to please a particular person. Secondary sources, or those based on the primary sources, have a benefit of hindsight, but the authors might have weeded out stuff "they" didn't feel was necessary. That very weed might make or break your thesis. Also watch for a secondary source drawing conclusions based on current thought. A kind slave-owner certainly didn't treat his female slave nicely because of fear of a sexual harrassment suit. You've got to try to think as your subject may have thought. Primary sources are preferred, but be aware of their drawbacks.
What do other "experts" think of the book you're about to reference? Ask your librarian how to find book reviews. There's an index on them, just like for other media. Look to the professional reviews, not what an on-line bookstore says about a book they're trying to sell you --of course IT'S the best book on the topic you can find. Look, also, at like books. Do they reference the author you're wanting to use? If
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