Evaluating Sources

Locating resources for your projects or papers usually is not a problem. Where the difficulty and frustration for students conducting research usually occurs is in finding quality information. The key to locating great sources of information for your papers is critically accessing the materials that you find.

You need to think before you use any piece of information in your work. It does not matter whether it is a book, scholarly article, or a web site. Taking the time to use the six criteria presented here to assess your materials can save you a lot of unnecessary work.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Purpose: Why was the resource written: to inform, to present opinions, to report research or to sell a product? For what audience is it intended?
• Authority: Who wrote the material? Are they a professor or an expert in the field that the resource covers? Are they a reporter covering a story?
• Accuracy: Is the material being presented factual? Is it without errors?
• Timeliness: Is the information out of date? If you are doing a paper on an historical event timeliness may not be so important.
• Coverage: Does the source cover the topic in depth, partially, or is it a broad overview?
• Objectivity: Does the material show multiple viewpoints or is it an opinion piece?

For more information on evaluating materials go to the University of Minnesota's QuickStudy Library Research Guide.