How can you tell which articles or books are written by an authority in the field?
Last Updated: May 24, 2023     Views: 24

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?