Source or Sauce? – Evaluating Sources

A statistic from the Indonesian Ministry of Education website (kemdikbud.go.id)

• Source

• Sauce

• Not sure

• Depends on context

Answer explanation

SOURCE!! (Credible government data)

A graph shared by a TikTok influencer without citation

• Source

• Sauce

• Maybe

• Not applicable

Answer explanation

SAUCE!! (No traceable data source)

An article from The Economist about digital literacy

• Source

• Sauce

• Not sure

• Depends on context

Answer explanation

SOURCE!! (Reputable publication, though not scholarly)

Your friend’s WhatsApp status about AI tools

• Source

• Sauce

• Maybe

• Not applicable

Answer explanation

SAUCE!! (Anecdotal, not academic)

A peer-reviewed journal from Elsevier on online learning outcomes

• Source

• Sauce

• Not sure

• Depends on context

Answer explanation

SOURCE!! (Ideal academic source)

A Wikipedia page on climate change

• Source

• Sauce

• Maybe

• Not applicable

Answer explanation

SAUCE!! (Good for background, but not citable in formal writing)

An NGO report with full citations and data tables

• Source

• Sauce

• Not sure

• Depends on context

Answer explanation

SOURCE!! (Credible if well-documented and transparent)

An Instagram story with a motivational quote

• Source

• Sauce

• Maybe

• Not applicable

Answer explanation

• SAUCE!! (Not a data source)

A magazine article from Time with expert interviews

• Source

• Sauce

• Not sure

• Depends on context

Answer explanation

SOURCE!! (Acceptable in some cases for general context)

A classroom discussion where a student shares their opinion

• Source

• Sauce

• Not applicable

• Depends on the context

Answer explanation

It depends on your research purpose and level of formality.

Primary source -> As research data (you collected it systematically)

Secondary source -> As citation from published work

⚠️ Informal support ⚠️As anecdote or illustration (no data collection) citing a classroom discussion you just remembered or participated in is not considered reliable evidence, since it’s not verifiable or published.