Evaluation of Resources
Evaluation Criteria
One thing that all college students need to learn, is not just how to find resources, but to evaluate the quality of a resource. Just because something appears in print or online does not mean it is a good resource. This little area is meant as a tool to help you think through the evaluation of any resource. Comments that are highlighted in yellow are especially important for web resources.
Currency - How old can your required information be?
- How current is the information?
- When was it published?
- When was it updated?
- Are the hyperlinks still working?
Relevance - Does this resource answer your question?
- Does it answer your question?
- Does it relate to your topic? How closely related?
- Who is the intended audience for this resource? Is it age appropriate?
- Does it use scholarly or technical language? Does it assume the reader is well educated in the discipline?
- Would this be something you would feel comfortable citing in your research?
- Have you examined other resources enough to determine that this is the best for you to use?
Authority - Who is the source of this information?
- Is this a personal page or website? Corporate? Publication of a society or conference? Academic journal?
- Who is the creator of this information? Can you check for a biography or "about us" for the creator?
- Are they an authority in this field? What makes them an authority? Degrees? Publications?
- Are they qualified in this field? A PhD in Biblical studies is not the doctor you want when your appendix bursts.
- Is there contact information to verify the information about the creator? E-mail? Address? Phone number?
- What does the cite domain reveal about its content or creator?
- .edu? .com? .gov? .org? .net?
Accuracy - Is the information correct?
- Is the information supported by evidence?
- Are there citations or documentation to that evidence? Are there hyperlinks to other cites with evidence?
- Is there an explanation of the research methodology?
- Has the information been reviewed or refereed? (a peer reviewed article is sometime said to be refereed)
- Is there a way to confirm the information? Personal knowledge or check another source?
- Are there disproven theories present in the content?
- Are there spelling or grammar errors which might cast doubt on the quality of the information?
Purpose - Why was this information presented this way?
- What is the purpose of this information? Entertain? Sell? Persuade? or to inform?
- Is there a stated purpose by the creator of the content?
- Is the information presented as fact, opinion, or propaganda?
- Are various sides of an issue presented evenly?
- Is the language biased or objective in tone?
- Are there political, religious, cultural, ideological or personal biases present?
If a resource fails any of these criteria then either don't use the resource or be very careful with how you handle it and present its findings in your research.