Publication & Format
- Where was it published?
- Was it published in a scholarly publication, such as an academic journal?
- Who was the publisher? Was it a university press?
- Was it formally peer-reviewed?
- Was it published by a commercial publisher? Professional or trade association? Institution? Research Center? Government?
- Was it published by a vanity press? (publishing house where authors pay to publish their work and lack a rigorous peer-review or editing process)
- These are notoriously hard to judge. Some self-published works are extremely high quality while others are poorly written, designed, and edited. You must read through the individual title to determine quality.
- Does the publication have a particular editorial position?
- Is it generally thought to be a conservative or progressive outlet?
- Is the publication sponsored by any other companies or organizations? Do the sponsors have particular biases?
- Were there any apparent barriers to publication?
- Was it self-published?
- Were there outside editors or reviewers?
- Where, geographically, was it originally published, and in what language?
- In what medium?
- Was it published online or in print? Both?
- Is it a blog post? A YouTube video? A TV episode? An article from a print magazine?
- What does the medium tell you about the intended audience?
- What does the medium tell you about the purpose of the piece?
Bias
Some publishers or authors have an inherent bias that will impact items printed in them or written by them.
- Is the book or journal article:
- left/liberal?
- right/conservative?
- center?
- an alternative press?
- published by a political action (PAC) group?