Evaluating Sources
Evaluating the sources you find is a crucial step in the process of library 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.
- Critically Analyzing Information Sources lists some of the critical questions you should ask when you consider the appropriateness of a particular book, article, media resource, or Web site for your research.
- Distinguishing Scholarly Journals from Other Periodicals shows how to evaluate periodicals by looking at their format, intended audience, and appearance.
- Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites offers a table of suggestions.
- For additional suggestions specific to Web sites, see Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools.
- How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography.