What does the title tell you about the content?
- Look at the title of the book, journal, article, website, or the URL.
- A resource can have a great title but then be full of tangential ideas or not be related to your research – or vice versa – look deeper.
Can you find information about the author?
- Is the author named?
- Does the author have expertise on the subject?
- What are his/her qualifications? Look for information in the resource.
- Use Google or Google Scholar to find evidence of research on the same subject by the author.
- Is there contact information on a website?
What is the date? Is there a date?
- How current is the resource?
- Is it important that the information be current?
- Is there a date of the last update on a website?
Who is the intended audience?
- Is the language simple or technical? Is it scholarly?
- Use Google to find information about a publication.
How relevant is the resource?
- What is the resource about?
- For a book, check the table of contents and the index.
- For an article, read the abstract, summary, and conclusion.
- For a website, check the home page for clues.
- Is the subject applicable to your research?
How objective is the content?
- What is the author’s point of view?
- Is the resource well-researched and detailed?
- Or is it biased?
- Is the information the author’s opinion or supported by facts?
- Are there advertisements or items for sale?
Does the author document his or her sources?
- Are there references, citations or related sources of information?
- Are there footnotes?