Help Evaluating Sources

As you start collecting print, media, and electronic sources that match your topic and assignment, you'll want to evaluate, or think critically about, the sources you encounter.

Even though a book, article, video, or web page matches your search criteria and appears to be relevant, does not mean that it is necessarily a reliable source of information. Using the following criteria should help you decide whether a source is of high enough quality to use for your research project.

The five traditional criteria for evaluating print and media materials are:

Accuracy
• • How reliable and free from error is the information?
  • Are there editors and fact checkers?
  • What is the domain code? If you're not sure what this means, you may want to learn more about Reading URLs.


• Authority
  • What are the author's qualifications for writing on this subject?
  • How reputable is the publisher?
  • Does the author's e-mail address appear on the page so you can contact him/her for further information?


• Coverage
  • What topics are included in the work?
  • Are the topics explored in depth?
  • Does the author list his/her sources?


• Currency
  • Is the content of the work up-to-date?
  • When was the page last updated? Is there a copyright date on the page?
  • Is the publication date clearly labeled?


• Objectivity
  • Is the information presented with a minimum of bias?
  • To what extent is the information trying to sway the opinion of the audience?

For more information, Take a look at these sites:

• Evaluating Information Found on the Internet
• Free & Fee Based Areas of the Internet
• Sets of Web Sites to Evaluate
• Hoax? Scholarly Research? Personal Opinion? You Decide!
• Links to Additional Sites with Web Evaluation Materials

And remember, when in doubt, you can always Ask a Librarian.