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Evaluating Sources
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What is the breadth of the source? Is it a general work or focused on one aspect of the topic?
Timeliness:
When was the source published or produced?
Type of Source:
Is the source scholarly or popular (especially important for articles)? Is it intended for a specific professional audience (trade)?
Primary vs. Secondary sources:
- Primary sources present original research for the first time.
- Secondary sources provide a compilation or an evaluation of previously published information.
Publisher:
Who published the source: a university press, a professional association, a trade association, a commercial publisher, a person, other?
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Author:
Who is the author and what are his/her credentials? What else has she/he written?
Audience:
Who is the intended audience of the source?
Objectivity:
What viewpoint does the author hold? Does she/he cover both sides of the issue?
Writing Style:
Is the source well written? Is it academic? If it is filled with jargon, is the jargon properly used?
Documentation:
Does the source provide footnotes or a bibliography of references?
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Checklist for Evaluating Research* |
* Leedy, Paul D., Practical Research: Planning and Design, 5th ed., (New York: Macmillan, 1993), 22.
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Evaluating Internet Sources |
Look at the URL*:
- What is the domain*? .com, .org, .net, .edu, .gov, .mil, other.
- Is the domain appropriate for the content?
* See Web Fundamentals if you are unfamiliar with this terminology.
- Who published the page/site?
- Is it published by an institution or might it be a personal page?
- The author:
- Who wrote the page? Is author's name provided?
- Are there any credentials that indicate that the person is a qualified authority on this subject? How can you find more information about this person?
- Is a way to contact the author provided on the page?
- The page:
- Does the page provide factual information or data, or does it provide second-hand information? Is the page well documented?
- When was the page created or last updated? Are the links on the page still current?
- Who sponsors the page?
- What was the purpose in publishing this page/site? Why was it created?
- Is there a bias? Does the page provide a balanced approach to the topic, presenting other viewpoints? Is anything obviously omitted?
- Who links to it? How did you find it?
A helpful "Web Page Evaluation Worksheet" is available from the Library at the University of California, Berkeley (Adobe Acrobat format). This library has an extensive tutorial devoted to evaluating Web pages.
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