Evaluation of –

Print Reference Sources

 Contents
 Conceptual
 Criteria for Evaluating - Print Resources sources
 Authority
 Date of Publication/Timeliness/Currency
 Publisher
 Intended Audience
 Objectives
 Bias
 Content
 Accuracy
 Quality
 Scope
 Special Features
 Conceptual
 Library resources consist of both print and non-print.
 Every resource - a book, an article, web resources or a website, must be
evaluated to determine its quality and its relevance.
 It is important to evaluate the information you find. Not all sources are
written or reviewed by experts.
 Why use print materials when so many online resources are
available? Example of print reference sources
 Encyclopaedias
 Dictionaries
 Thesaurus
 Atlas
 Almanacs
 Yearbooks
 Handbooks
 Manuals
 Atlases etc.
Criteria for Evaluating - Print Resources
sources
1. Authority
2. Date of Publication/Timeliness/Currency
3. Publisher
4. Intended Audience
5. Objectives
6. Bias
7. Content
8. Accuracy
9. Quality
10. Scope
11. Special Features
Criteria for Evaluating - Print Resources
sources
1. Authority
 Author's credentials, such as his or her organizational
affiliation, education background, current position, and years of
experience.
 Author qualified to write authoritatively on a certain topic.
 Authors with advanced degrees or other published books and articles
tend to be more credible.
 Determine if the author is currently associated with a
reputable organization by considering the organization’s
membership.
 Does the author provide contact information, e.g., e-mail address,
telephone number, street address.
 Creator of the document or a compiler of information resources.
Criteria for Evaluating - Print Resources
sources
2.Date of Publication/Timeliness/Currency
 When was the book or article published?
 Information is updated frequently.
 When was the item last revised?
 Recent edition.
 Sources published recently tend to be more credible than older
sources as new research is conducted.
 Research in the humanities and some social sciences is not so
dependent on currency of information, and older materials may
prove extremely appropriate.
Criteria for Evaluating - Print Resources
sources
3. Publisher
 Name of the publisher.
 There are thousands of publishers, and it is impossible to know the
reputations of all of them.
 Oxford University Press
 Penguin Random House
 Pan Macmillan
 Pearson Education
 S. Chand Publishing
 Springer
 Elsevier etc.
Criteria for Evaluating - Print Resources
sources
4. Intended Audience
 Who is the intended audience for this work?
 General audience - written for people with an 8th - 12th grade education
 Professional - written for those with an undergraduate and graduate
college education.
 Specialized - written for those with an interest in a specialized area
of study
i.e. designers, doctors, advocates, engineers, etc.
 Knowing the intended audience of a book or an article can help you
determine
its appropriateness for your question or research.
 If the author intended his or her work to be enjoyed by the general public,
it may not be sufficiently scholarly for your purposes.
 If the targeted readers are other experts in an esoteric field, general readers
may
have trouble following the discussion.
Criteria for Evaluating - Print Resources
sources
5. Objectives
 When reading material, ask yourself if the assumptions the author
makes are reasonable and grounded in fact and research, not
emotion.
 Can you determine if the author has researched extensively.
 Purpose of the document.
 To inform/explain-informational paper
 To persuade/advocate a position-compare & contrast an issue
 To sell
Criteria for Evaluating - Print Resources
sources
6. Bias
 Determine if the author has a particular bias or if their goal is to sell
a service or persuade you to their viewpoint.
 Read the source’s introduction and conclusion. Ask yourself if
opposing viewpoints are acknowledged or addressed.
 Check that the author’s arguments and conclusions are
supported by
credible and cited sources.
Criteria for Evaluating - Print Resources
sources
7. Content
 Does the material cover your topic as you thought it would. If it
covers your research topic only marginally, you may need to select
other sources.
 Does it provide background information or does it focus on a more
specific area or problem.
 What does this source add to what you already know about your
topic?
 Is it updating what has been established in a field.
Criteria for Evaluating - Print Resources
sources
8. Accuracy
 How was the resource written?
 As a report, factually
 As an opinion or column, with a point of view
 As propaganda, highly biased
 Are sources cited? Is information verifiable
Criteria for Evaluating - Print Resources
sources
9. Quality
 Check for accurate grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
 Check if the information is organized in terms of clarity, flow and
structure.
10. Scope
 What is the subject of the source?
 Does it relate to your topic.
 Does the preface or introduction state a purpose and address your
issues.
 Does the table of contents or index indicate sufficient topic
coverage.
 Is there sufficient breadth and depth of coverage on your topic.
Criteria for Evaluating - Print Resources
sources
11. Special Features
 Does the source contain graphs, charts, tables, maps, or any other
special features that adds to the usefulness of the source.
 Does it use header and footer to indicate information about
the author and source.
 Conclusions
 Library resources consist of both print and non-print.
 Every resource must be evaluated to determine its quality and its
relevance.
 Criteria for evaluating Print Resources sources
 Authority
 Date of Publication/Timeliness/Currency
 Publisher
 Intended Audience
 Objectives
 Bias
 Content
 Accuracy
 Quality
 Scope
 References
 IWU. (2013). Critical Evaluation Checklist for Internet Websites.
Retrieved 07 23, 2017, from World wide web:
https://www2.indwes.edu/WebEvaluation.html
 ODUL. (2006). Evaluating Information Sources. Retrieved 07 25,
2017, from World wide web: https://www.oh
iodominican.edu/uploadedFiles/Library/Help/Library
_Guides/Evaluating%20Information%20Sources.pdf
 UAF. (2015). Evaluating Information Resources. Retrieved 07 20,
2017, from World wide web: https://library.uaf.edu/ls101-evaluation
 WSU. (2011). Evaluating Information Sources: The CAARP Test.
Retrieved 07 25, 2017, from world wide web:
http://library.wichita.edu/empower/module1/images/EvaluatingInfo
r
mationSources.pdf