How to Critically Analyze Information Sources
A guide to the critical questions you should ask when you consider the appropriateness of a particular book, article, media resource, or Web site for your research.
When evaluating the books and articles that you find, check for the following:
* Is there a bibliography or list of references at the end of the article/book?
* If it's an article, is it signed--i.e., does one or more individuals take responsibility for the content?
* If a book, who is the publisher? Is it an academic press? Is there an index?
All of these are signs of a scholarly or academic work.
Evaluating the sources you find is a crucial step in the process of scholarly research. The questions you ask about books, periodical articles, or multimedia sources are similar whether you're looking at a citation to the item or have the item in hand.
Watch this video to learn how to identify scholarly journal articles.