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Evaluating Sources Handout
Evaluating Sources
A crucial step for a successful research paper is to evaluate the potential
information sources and select
the best information that suits your topic. Ask yourself the following questions
about your sources:
Criteria for Evaluating Sources
What does the work cover? Is it
What?
relevant to my topic?
If an abstract is available, read it. Scan
the full text and look at the thesis,
statement and conclusion.
When?
When was the work written? Is the
information up to date enough for
the topic chosen or do you need
historical information
Check the publication date. In fields
such as medicine, science &
technology, currency is important. In
fields such as history & literature,
older materials may be just as
valuable as newer ones.
Who?
Who is the author or sponsor?
Type the author's name in
Google.com and see if you can
retrieve some background
information about the author.
Why?
Why was the work written? What
was its purpose, to inform or to
persuade? What was the
bias/perspective/ motivation?
Check who publishes or sponsors the
source.
How?
How was the work written? Was it
written at a level you can
understand and use
Use the chart on the next page, to help you decide if the websites you find are
appropriate to use for your assignments:
Wikipedia
7 Things You Should Know About . . . Wikipedia by EDUCAUSE
Researching with Wikipedia by Wikipedia
Using Wikipedia by Carleton College
Tutorials about Evaluating Sources
Credible Sources Count! by Vaughan Memorial Library, Acadia University
Evaluating Internet Sites 101! by University at Albany Libraries
Evaluating Sources of Information by VCCS Connect for Success Information Literacy
Tutorial - Module 6
Evaluating Web Sites > Overview - Key Ideas by net.TUTOR. Ohio State University Libraries
Evaluating Information on the Web by Drexel University Libraries
Evaluate Web Pages by Wolfgram Memorial Library, Widener University
Evaluating Web Resources by University of Arizona Libraries
Many thanks to JSRCC Library and Kimbel Library for the design or information used in this guide.
Last updated 03/2012