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Evaluating Sources: Jessemar J. Wao, Maed Elt

This document provides guidance on evaluating different types of information sources, including books, periodicals, and websites. It outlines important criteria for assessing the authorship, currency, purpose, relevance, and coverage of books. For periodicals, key factors include the title, intended audience, authorship, article length and format. Scholarly journals are distinguished from popular magazines by longer articles, abstracts, and references. When evaluating websites, the purpose, authorship, accuracy, currency, objectivity, and ease of use should be considered.

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39 views36 pages

Evaluating Sources: Jessemar J. Wao, Maed Elt

This document provides guidance on evaluating different types of information sources, including books, periodicals, and websites. It outlines important criteria for assessing the authorship, currency, purpose, relevance, and coverage of books. For periodicals, key factors include the title, intended audience, authorship, article length and format. Scholarly journals are distinguished from popular magazines by longer articles, abstracts, and references. When evaluating websites, the purpose, authorship, accuracy, currency, objectivity, and ease of use should be considered.

Uploaded by

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Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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EVALUATING SOURCES

JESSEMAR J. WAO, MAED ELT


Types of Resources to Evaluate

• Books
• Periodicals
• Web Sites
Criteria for Evaluating Books
• Authorship
• Currency
• Purpose
• Relevance
• Coverage
Questions to Ask When Evaluating Books
Authorship
• What are the author’s or authors’
qualifications? (This can be determined by
examining information on the title page, a list
of contributors, the introduction or another
introductory part of the book. Information
usually includes educational background and
occupational information. Note: Don’t confuse
authors with editors).
Currency
• When was the book published?
(This information can be found on the front or
back of the title page of a book. When doing a
research paper on a topic that is time-sensitive, or
when you are using time-sensitive information or
data, you will need current resources).
Purpose
• Why was this book written?
• Who is the intended audience? (The answer to
these questions can typically be found in the
Preface or Introduction of a book
Relevance
• Does this book cover the same general subject as your
paper? (For example, if the topic of your research
paper is “tuberculosis and vaccination,” does the whole
book deal with the topic, or does a chapter or two
discuss the topic? You can determine this by examining
the table of contents or index)
Coverage (Related to
Relevance)

• How much coverage does the book provide for your


topic? (A book may give only a few paragraphs of
information on your topic. On the other hand, a book
may provide several pages of information pertaining to
your topic. In addition to reading the relevant parts of
the book, you can also check the table of contents and
index).
Evaluating Periodicals

• Criteria for Evaluating Periodicals


Evaluating Periodicals
2
Criteria for Evaluating Periodicals
01 Title
02 Frequency of Publication

03 Authorship
04 Length of Articles

05 Article Titles

www.yourwebsite.com
2
Criteria for Evaluating Periodicals
06 Intended Audience
07 Frequency of Publication

08 Purpose
09 Availability of Abstracts

10 Availability of References

www.yourwebsite.com
Important:

• Before you can evaluate a


periodical, you need to know what
type of periodical you’re using.
1
3 Major Categories of Periodicals

Popular Magazines and


01 Newspapers

Professional, Trade, and


02 Industry Periodicals

Scholarly Journals
03

www.yourwebsite.com
1

Evaluating Popular Magazines and


Newspapers

www.yourwebsite.com
1

Magazines and Newspapers

www.yourwebsite.com
Magazines and Newspapers
Title May have “magazine” in the title

Publication Frequency Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly


Authorship Staff, freelance authors or guest
authors
Article Length Usually short
Article Titles Popular or catchy article titles
Magazines and Newspapers
Intended Audience Non-expert readers, general public

Purpose To entertain, advertise, inform to a certain


extent

Abstracts Articles do not have summarizing abstracts

References Articles do not have references (works cited)


Evaluating Professional, Trade, and
Industry Periodicals
Professional, Trade, and Industry
Periodicals
Title May have “news” or occupational
terms
Publication Frequency Weekly, biweekly, or monthly

Authorship Staff, freelance authors, guest authors


or professionals

Article Length Usually short

Article Titles Straightforward


Professional, Trade, and Industry
Periodicals (continued)
Intended Audience People associated with a certain
trade, industry or profession

Purpose To address issues in a particular


profession or industry

Abstracts No summarizing abstracts

References No references
Evaluating Scholarly Journals
Scholarly Journals
Title May have “journal” “quarterly”
“bulletin” or “review” in title

Publication Frequency Monthly, quarterly, or semiannually

Authorship Scholars, professors in universities

Article Length Long

Article Title Usually long


Scholarly Journals (continued)
Intended Audience Scholars, college students

Purpose To report results of original research


and inform

Abstracts Articles usually have an abstract at


the beginning

References Articles have references at the end


Examples of Periodicals

• Popular
– Time
• Professional, Trade or Industry
– Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration News
• Scholarly
– JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical
Association
Evaluating Web Sites
Important:

Evaluation is especially important when it


comes to Web sites. Many Web sites do not
go through the editorial process like books
and periodicals do. Thus, many Web sites are
not checked for quality prior to being
uploaded to the Web.
Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites
• Purpose/Intended Audience
• Authorship
• Accuracy/Reliability
• Currency
• Objectivity
• Ease of Use
Questions To Ask When Evaluating
Web Sites
Purpose/Intended Audience
• Why was this Web site created? (Purpose) (This
information may be found on the Web site’s home
page or on the “About this site” page, if available)
• For whom was this Web site created? (You may find
out who is the intended audience by going to the
home page or “About this site” page. Also, check URL
suffix, .com, .edu, .gov, .org, etc.)
Authorship

• Is the author qualified to write publicly about the


topic or subject?
– Look for the author’s name. (May be on the home
page)
– Look for information regarding author’s
qualifications (Educational background,
occupation. This may be found on the Web site,
then you could check another site to verify).
Accuracy/Reliability

• Are there spelling or grammatical errors on this Web


site?
• Does the Web site have a list of works cited or links
to other resources that would verify the information
on the Web site?
• Would books and/or periodicals confirm the
information or data on this Web site?
Currency

• When was the Web site created?


• When was the Web site last updated? (The answer to
the first two questions should be found at the
bottom of the home page of the Web site).
• Are there any dead-end links on the Web site?
Objectivity

• Is the Web site mostly factual or mostly opinionated?


• Is the subject of the Web site a controversial subject?
• Is there hateful or inflammatory language used?
• Is the Web site part of or sponsored by a company or
organization? (This can affect what is stated).
Ease of Use

• Can you navigate the site easily? (In other words, can
you go from one part of the site to another easily?)
• Is there a search box on the home page?
• Is the Web site organized? (Some Web sites have a
table of contents for organizing topics).

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