Personal Steps:
Identify emotions attached to topic.
Find reference sources and evaluate bias for a proper view of the topic
Intellectual courage to seek authoritative voices on topics that may be outside of thesis.
Source steps:
Authority established. Does the author have education and experience in that field?
Purpose/point of view of source. Does the author have an agenda beyond education or information?
Publisher. Does the publisher have an agenda?
List of sources (bibliography). Is the evidence sound?
Year of publication. Does the year of publication affect the information?
This document has suggestions on even more questions you could ask yourself about your source and topic
Evaluating sources is difficult, but asking yourself some critical questions about each of your potential sources can really help. The following questions are just a starting point, but can help you quickly weed out less useful sources and then more closely examine what you have left.
How is the source related to your broad topic?
How is the source related to your specific research question?
Do you understand the source?
Is the source appropriate for your project?
How might you use this source?