Evaluating information is complicated - CAP 201 - Sample Information Practices in History - LibGuides at Hostos Community College Library

10. Who are the different kinds of experts in the field/discipline and what are their areas of expertise?

Pulitzer Prizes for a distinguished and appropriately documented book on the history of the United States
The Pulitzer Prize is awarded each year for a book written about American history. It is not an academic prize, but winning this prize is a great honor.
OAH Distinguished Lectureship Program
Each year, the Organization of American Historians selects a group of respected historians to participate in its distinguished lectureship series. These historians are available to give talks at present their work at academic and community organizations across the country.

11. How do those authorities gain the reputation they have as experts?

Organization of American Historians - Journal of American History
Professional organizations like the Organization of American Historians provide opportunities for professional historians and students to gather together and learn from each other. Participating in professional associations and writing articles in peer-reviewed journals such as their he Journal of American History are ways that historians can establish themselves as experts. This organization also produces other non-peer-reviewed genres such as blogs and podcasts.

12. What strategies do individuals in the field/discipline employ to help ensure that the information they use and the information sources they produce are accurate and reliable?

Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct (updated 2019) -- American Historical Association
This statement by AHA provides guidance for historians related to the professional values and roles of historians.

13. What are the “go-to” sources that experts in that field/discipline use when they need to find authoritative information?

Professor Julia Mendez, a Professor of Latin American Studies at York College, consults key academic journals in her field on a regular basis, such as the Journal of Latin American Studies, Bulletin of Latin American Research, and Hispanic American Historical Review. She goes to professional conferences where scholars and researchers present their research. "To be honest, I already know many people in the field personally. If a new scholar comes along with an interesting perspective in my area of interest, motherhood and Catholicism in during the period of industrialization, I introduce myself and start a correspondence. The community who study Latin American women's religious history is rather small and collaborative. We know who the experts are because we read their papers and books and we go to their conference presentations."

Mendez, Julia. Personal interview. 12 November, 2021.