Introduction

From books to journal articles, media reports and, of course, Internet sites, it is important to critically evaluate information before including it in your assignments and research papers. This checklist of questions is intended to help you identify information sources that are reliable and appropriate.

Who is the author?

• Does he/she have any listed qualifications or credentials?
• Is the author affiliated with an organization/university etc?
• Is the author the person who conducted the research (primary source) or has he/she summarized research done by someone else (secondary source)?

Has there been a review process?

• Is your article from a refereed (reviewed by peers) research journal?
• Is the publisher known in this field of study?
• Has the book been reviewed?

Peer reviewed journals

What is a peer reviewed (refereed) journal?

Library staff can recommend sources of book reviews and direct you to lists of refereed journals.  Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory includes details of refereed journals.  You can also consult the authoritative master list of journals from the Institute Scientific Information (ISI) on the Web.

Is the information accurate?

• Can you verify the facts and statistics?
• Is there a bibliography of sources used?

Is the information objective?

• Is there a discernible bias - does the author seem to be promoting a particular idea and could this bias have affected research results?
• Is the information published by an organization with a particular point of view?

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Is the information current?

• Is this the most current information on your topic or is it too old to be pertinent? (This is very important in fields such as economics, science and technology but in subject areas such as history or literature, older materials may be just as valuable).

Is the content, style and tone appropriate for your purposes?

• Are you satisfied these aspects reflect the impression you want to convey and suit the audience for whom your assignment or report is intended?

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Evaluating Internet sources

Evaluating sources found through an Internet search can be problematic. Remember, anyone can publish on the Internet, often without any review process, so check the following details:

• Is there a named author or data custodian?
• Do you consider that the author is qualified to write about this topic?
• Are opinions being presented as facts?
• What is the purpose of this page: to inform and educate, to persuade, or to entertain?
• Are there any references/bibliographies which you can check?
• When was the site last updated - how current is the information?
• Check that any WWW links are also appropriate and don't assume linked sites are the best available. Consider investigating additional sites on the topic.
• Is there a mail-to link if you want to forward any questions or comments?

Peer reviewed journals

What is a peer reviewed (refereed) journal?

Library staff can recommend sources of book reviews and direct you to lists of refereed journals.  Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory includes details of refereed journals.  You can also consult the authoritative master list of journals from the Institute Scientific Information (ISI) on the Web.

Reading further

If you want to read more about evaluating information sources, here is a list of books held in the Library and some recommended Internet sites.

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Content Responsibility: Louise.Cooper@canberra.edu.au