How to Evaluate the Information Sources You Find
Evaluating the authority, usefulness, and reliability of the information you find is a crucial step in the process of library research. The questions you ask about books, periodical articles, multimedia titles, or Web pages are similar whether you're looking at a citation to the item, a physical item in hand, or an electronic version on a computer.
All Sources
Critically Analyzing Information Sources lists some of the questions you should ask when you consider the appropriateness of a particular book, article, media resource, or Web site for your research.
Evaluating Books
Use book reviews to gather critical information about books. Three quick ways to access them online [Cornell users only]:
- Articles + Full Text link [all dates; links to full-text reviews]
- ProQuest Research Library. [1986- ; some full-text reviews]
- Bowker's Books in Print. [in-print books from any year; full text of short reviews available]
More sources for book reviews --Book Reviews: A Finding Guide.
Evaluating Periodicals
- Distinguishing Scholarly from Other Periodicals shows how to evaluate periodicals by looking at their format, intended audience, and appearance.
- Magazines for Libraries. Cheryl LaGuardia, editor. Annual New York: Bowker.
Call number: Uris Library Stacks Z 6941 .K21 +. The latest edition is shelved near the Olin Reference desk
Evaluations of journals, magazines, and newspapers. Earlier editions in the Uris Library Stacks.
Evaluating Data Sources
"Become Data Literate in 3 Simple Steps" shows how to evaluate the numbers used in articles, books, and the media.
Source: Understanding Data, Chapter 6 in The Data Journalism Handbook, Version 1.0 beta online.
Evaluating Web Sites
Evaluating Resources is an excellent guide from the UC Berkeley Library.
