Evaluating Sources

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information from Teaching Information
Literacy: 35 Practical, Standards-Based
Exercises for College Students.
Types of Resources to Evaluate
 Books

 Periodicals

 Web Sites
Evaluating Books
 Criteria for Evaluating Books
 Authorship

 Currency

 Purpose

 Relevance

 Coverage
Questions to Ask When Evaluating
Books
 Authorship
 What are the author’s or authors’
qualifications? (This can be
determined by examining
information on the title page, a list of
contributors, the introduction or
another introductory part of the
book. Information usually includes
educational background and
occupational information. Note:
Don’t confuse authors with editors).
 Currency
 When was the book published? (This
information can be found on the
front or back of the title page of a
book. When doing a research paper
on a topic that is time-sensitive, or
when you are using time-sensitive
information or data, you will need
current resources).
 Purpose
 Why was this book written?
 Who is the intended audience? (The
answer to these questions can
typically be found in the Preface or
Introduction of a book)
 Relevance
 Does this book cover the same
general subject as your paper? (For
example, if the topic of your research
paper is “tuberculosis and
vaccination,” does the whole book
deal with the topic, or does a chapter
or two discuss the topic? You can
determine this by examining the
table of contents or index)
 Coverage (Related to Relevance)
 How much coverage does the book
provide for your topic? (A book may
give only a few paragraphs of
information on your topic. On the
other hand, a book may provide
several pages of information
pertaining to your topic. In addition
to reading the relevant parts of the
book, you can also check the table of
contents and index).
Evaluating Periodicals
 Criteria for Evaluating Periodicals
 Title
 Frequency of Publication

 Authorship

 Length of Articles

 Article Titles

 Intended Audience

 Purpose

 Availability of Abstracts

 Availability of References
 Important:
Before you can evaluate a
periodical, you need to
know what type of
periodical you’re using.
 3 Major Categories of Periodicals
 Popular Magazines and Newspapers
 Professional, Trade, and Industry
Periodicals
 Scholarly Journals
Evaluating Popular Magazines
and Newspapers
Magazines and Newspapers
Title May have “magazine”
in the title
Publication Weekly, bi-weekly,
Frequency monthly
Authorship Staff, freelance authors
or guest authors
Article Length Usually short

Article Titles Popular or catchy

article titles
 Magazines and Newspapers
(continued)
Intended Non-expert readers,
Audience general public
Purpose To entertain, advertise,
inform to a certain extent
Abstracts Articles do not have
summarizing abstracts
References Articles do not have
references (works cited)
Evaluating Professional, Trade,
and Industry Periodicals
Professional, Trade, and Industry
Periodicals
Title May have “news” or
occupational terms
Publication Weekly, biweekly, or
Frequency monthly
Authorship Staff, freelance
authors, guest authors
or professionals
Article Length Usually short

Article Titles Straightforward

Professional, Trade, and Industry
Periodicals (continued)
Intended Audience People associated
with a certain trade,
industry or profession
Purpose To address issues in
a particular
profession or industry
Abstracts No summarizing
abstracts
References No references
Evaluating Scholarly Journals
 Scholarly Journals
Title May have “journal”
“quarterly” “bulletin” or
“review” in title
Publication Monthly, quarterly, or
Frequency semiannually
Authorship Scholars, professors in
universities
Article Length Long

Article Title Usually long

Scholarly Journals (continued)
Intended Audience Scholars, college
students

Purpose To report results of

original research and
inform
Abstracts Articles usually have
an abstract at the
beginning
References Articles have
references at the end
 Examples of Periodicals
 Popular

– Time
 Professional, Trade or Industry
– Air Conditioning, Heating, and
Refrigeration News
 Scholarly

– JAMA: The Journal of the American

Medical Association
Evaluating Web Sites
 Important:
Evaluation is especially important when it
comes to Web sites. Many Web sites do not go
through the editorial process like books and
periodicals do. Thus, many Web sites are not
checked for quality prior to being uploaded to
the Web.
 Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites
 Purpose/Intended Audience
 Authorship

 Accuracy/Reliability

 Currency

 Objectivity

 Ease of Use
Questions To Ask When
Evaluating Web Sites
 Purpose/Intended Audience
 Why was this Web site created? (Purpose)
(This information may be found on the
Web site’s home page or on the “About
this site” page, if available)
 For whom was this Web site created? (You
may find out who is the intended audience
by going to the home page or “About this
site” page. Also, check URL suffix, .com,
.edu, .gov, .org, etc.)
 Authorship
 Is
the author qualified to write
publicly about the topic or subject?
– Look for the author’s name. (May be on
the home page)
– Look for information regarding author’s
qualifications (Educational background,
occupation. This may be found on the
Web site, then you could check another
site to verify).
 Accuracy/Reliability
 Are there spelling or grammatical
errors on this Web site?
 Does the Web site have a list of works
cited or links to other resources that
would verify the information on the
Web site?
 Would books and/or periodicals
confirm the information or data on this
Web site?
 Currency
 When was the Web site created?
 When was the Web site last updated?
(The answer to the first two
questions should be found at the
bottom of the home page of the Web
site).
 Are there any dead-end links on the
Web site?
 Objectivity
 Is the Web site mostly factual or
mostly opinionated?
 Is the subject of the Web site a
controversial subject?
 Is there hateful or inflammatory
language used?
 Is the Web site part of or sponsored
by a company or organization? (This
can affect what is stated).
 Ease of Use
 Can you navigate the site easily? (In
other words, can you go from one
part of the site to another easily?)
 Is there a search box on the home
page?
 Is the Web site organized? (Some
Web sites have a table of contents
for organizing topics).