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? / What does the work cover? Is it 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 . . . Wikipediaby EDUCAUSE
Researching with Wikipediaby Wikipedia
Using Wikipediaby 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 Informationby VCCS Connect for Success Information Literacy Tutorial - Module 6
Evaluating Web Sites > Overview - Key Ideasby net.TUTOR. Ohio State University Libraries
Evaluating Information on the Webby Drexel University Libraries
Evaluate Web Pagesby Wolfgram Memorial Library, Widener University
Evaluating Web Resources by University of Arizona Libraries
Many thanks to JSRCC Library and Kimbel Library for the design orinformation usedin this guide.
Last updated 03/2012