Evaluating Resources
What's In This Module: Evaluating BooksBefore you use information from a book, take a critical look at it. Consider the following:
What is the purpose of the book?
- Is it to inform, to present opinions, to report research or to sell a product?
- At what level is the book written--high school, college, graduate or faculty?
- For what audience is it intended--scholar, practicing professional, general public?
- Does the book contain facts or personal opinions?
- Are there footnotes, bibliographies or lists of references given?
- Can you use the bibliography or works cited to find further information on your topic?
- What are the qualifications and experience of the author(s)?
- Look for a short biography somewhere in the book. If no information is given, consult other biographical resources to find more information about the author.
- Is the book published by an academic institution or a large commercial publisher?
- Is the book published by a nonprofit organization? By a business?
- The publisher gives you clues for checking the reliability and/or bias of the information.
- Does it provide the most recent information on your topic?
- Do you need an older book that gives historical or theoretical information on your topic?
- Are the statistics and facts recent enough for your research?
- Did your professor ask you to limit your research to current literature in the field?
- Does the source cover the topic comprehensively?
- Does it cover a specific time period or aspect of the topic?
- Are several different points of view represented?
- What evidence or supporting documentation is presented?
Before you use information from an article, take a critical look at it. Consider the following:
What is the article's purpose?
- Is it to inform, to present opinions, to report research or to sell a product?
- What is the audience--professional, general public, researcher or consumer?
- What are the qualifications or experience of the author?
- Is the author affiliated with an educational institution or organization?
- Has the author written other works?
- Does it contain documented facts or personal opinion?
- Does it appear in a newspaper, popular magazine or scholarly journal?
- Are there footnotes or a list of references at the end?
- Is the content relevant to your topic?
- Can you use the article to support or challenge a position in your paper?
- Does the article cover the time frame of your research?
Evaluating Web Sites
Remember that the Internet DOES NOT REPLACE resources owned by or accessed via the University Libraries, such as periodical indexes. These tools usually have no equivalent on the Internet.
Before you use information from a web site, take a critical look at it. Unlike many book and journal articles that go through an editorial process and peer review, there is no filtering mechanism on the web. Some sites are produced by experts (either individuals or organizations); others are created by individuals as a hobby or classroom assignment. The idea is to be a careful consumer when using the Internet for research. Consider the following when evaluating web sites:
What is the purpose of the site?
- Is it to inform, to persuade, to present opinions, to report research, or to promote and sell a product?
- What is the intended audience of the site?
- Is the author/producer identifiable?
- Does the author have expertise in the subject as indicated on a credentials page?
- Is the sponsor/location of the site appropriate to the material? Check the domain name at the end of the URL. Often the domain name system can give clues to individual or organization behind the address.
- Does the URL contain a tilde~? This often indicates that the Web site is an independent entity created by an individual, rather than an integral component of an organization's official Web site.
- Are the sources of information stated?
- Can the author or organization be contacted for clarification? Is there a geographical address given?
.edu educational institution
.com commercial business and for-profit organizations
.gov U.S. government organizations
.org nonprofit organizations
.net networking organizations; commercial internet providers
.mil U.S. military organizations
.int international organizations
.biz restricted to businesses
.name restricted to individuals
.museum museums and related persons
.pro restricted to licensed professionals
- Does the material seem factually accurate, or is it full of errors and dubious information?
- Does the material seem useful or irrelevant?
- Is the material original or borrowed from elsewhere?
- What subject area, time period, formats or types of material are covered?
- Is the information factual or opinion? Is any sort of bias evident?
- How frequently is the resource updated? When was the site last revised?
- How up-to-date are the links? Are they relevant and appropriate for the site?
- Does the text follow basic rules of grammar, spelling and literary composition?