Answer
Take note of the author's name.
- Are any advanced degrees listed with the author's name (M.D., M.S., Ph.D., Ed.D., etc.)?
- Is the author's affiliation or place of employment listed? Do they work in a field that's relevant to the subject they're writing about?
- On an article, you can usually find this information on the first or last page. In a book, there may be an "about the author" section at the end, or on the book cover.
- Workplace or affiliation not listed? Search for them in Google (hint: put their name in "quotation marks") to find out -- you'll often come across their CV or a personal page on their workplace's website.
- Have they published other articles, web pages or books on this topic, or related topics?