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Education Doctorate: Research Guide

Checklist for Evaluation

Evaluating Information Rubric

Here are general questions you should ask when evaluating print sources and websites.  More detailed questions below.

What to look for in books and periodicals

  • Currency: What is the publication date of the resource? 
  • Authority: Who is the author and publisher? 
  • Validity/Accuracy: Is the information accurate or valid?
  • Audience: Who was the resource written for? 
  • Point of view (bias): What is the resource's point of view?

What to look for in web sites

  • Currency: When was the website last updated?
  • Authority: Who is the author or creator?
  • Validity/Accuracy: Is the information accurate or valid?
  • Audience: Who was the website created for?
  • Point of view (bias): What is the website's point of view?

 

Evaluating Sources
Evaluate What to look for in books and periodicals What to look for in Web sites

Currency
  • Does the paper/assignment require the most current information, historical information, or information over a period of time?
  • If you are researching a topic that is currently in the news, you may want only the most recent information. If you are researching a historical event, you may want information written at the time of the event.
  • For books: What is the copyright date on the reverse of the title page? Does it meet your needs? Is this the most recent edition?
  • For periodicals:  Does the publication date meet your needs? 
  • Does the paper/assignment require the most current information, historical information, or information over a period of time?
  • When was the Web site published or created? (look for a copyright date on the homepage)
  • When was the site last updated or revised?
  • Are the links up to date?

Authority
  • What are the author's credentials and reputation?
  • What other works on the subject has the author written?
  • Is the author an expert or researcher in the field? A government agency? A journalist?
  • Has the author been cited by your instructor? In other publications you've read?
  • Did you check biographical sources such as Contemporary Authors and Biographical and Genealogical Master Index in the E-Resource List ?
  • Who is supplying the information?
  • Is it an educational institution (.edu extension)? A government agency (.gov)? A commercial supplier (.com)? A non-profit organization (.org)?
  • Is the supplier a reputable organization? (look for an “About Us” link on the homepage)
  • Is there an author or contact person named? What are the author's credentials (see "What to look for in books and periodicals")?
  • Has this site been reviewed by experts or professional organizations?

Validity/Accuracy
  • If the information is not current, is it still accurate?
  • Can the information be verified or supported by other sources? Do other sources report the same findings?
  • Is evidence given to support the information?
  • Are sources of factual information cited?
  • Are sources of information cited?
  • Compared to other sources, is the information complete and accurate? Are the links also complete and accurate, or are there discrepancies?
  • Is selection criteria provided for the links found in the Web site?
  • Does the site appear to be carefully edited, or are there typographical errors? 

Audience
  • Who is the intended audience? Researchers or experts? Trade or professional members? The general public?
  • Is the source appropriate for your needs, or is it too technical, advanced or elementary?
  • Is the site appropriate for your needs, or is it too technical or too elementary, or too full of jargon?
  • Who is the intended audience? Experts or the general public? 

Point of view (bias)
  • Does the source have a particular bias?
  • Does it promote the ideas of a particular group--religious, political, etc.?
  • Is the information objective or partial?
  • Is it factual information or interpretations of facts?
  • Are there assumptions and opinions stated?
  • Does the information appear to be filtered or is it free from bias?
  • Could the organization sponsoring the site have a stake in how the information is presented?
  • Is the site free of advertisements?
  • Are various points of view, theories, techniques, or schools of thought offered?

Purpose/context

 Is it for academic purposes or entertainment?
  • How closely does the book or journal relate to the purpose for which you need that information?
 What is the purpose of the site or article?
  • Is it to share new, scholarly research?
  • is it to report developments in an evolving news story?
  • Or is it to rant about a government conspiracy? 
  • ​How closely does the web site relate to the purpose for which you need that information?

 

Creative Commons Logo  This work "Evaluating Information Rubric," by Penn State Libraries , is adapted by WSU Library. CC BY 3.0. Except where otherwise noted, this work is subject to a creative commons attribution 3.0 license. Details and exceptions

Web Searching

A Google search can be helpful in the preliminary stages of research, especially now that more quality content has been made publicly accessible on the web; a publicly accessible resource means you will not be charged an additional fee to access the content. While access to credible content on the web has increased so has the amount of unreliable, malicious, and undocumented content. All of us know that anyone can post or upload content on the web. As researchers we have to remain critical to determine the authority, credibility, and quality of the content.

A big difference between the content you'll find searching in the library's databases and catalog (locating articles and books) and searching using Google is that the majority of the content found through the library's research tools have been reviewed and edited. These resources had to follow a set standard of guidelines determined by the experts in that discipline and/or by the publisher. The content you find through the Internet does not necessarily have a standard of publishing guidelines, so there may be no one vetting the information for accuracy and credibility; a standard of publishing content on the Internet is determined by the organization or by the discipline. Develop a habit of evaluating each website you visit. The criteria list above can be also be applied to the web, but here's a short list of questions for you to consider:

  • Who is the author or the host of the site? Who created this content? Do they have expertise on the topic?
  • What is the domain name? Some domain names have more credibility, such as a .gov or .edu. Content published on a .gov or .edu will have standard of publishing content or, at the minimum, a set of expectations. 
  • What is the organization's agenda? Examples:
    • If you decide to cite a page from epa.gov, you know that the agenda of the EPA is to protect our health and the environment through enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress.
    • Before you were to cite Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division (Google it!) as a resource about the harmful effects of consuming Dihdrogen Monoxide, you would learn that the purpose of this website is to educate people about the dangers of not being science literate; Dihdrogen Monoxide is another name for water.
    • When we learn that Stormfront hosts the site Martinlutherking.org, we know that a white supremacist organization will not portray a person of color in a positive and accurate way.
  • When was the resource last updated?
  • Were the sources cited?

Evaluating Information from the Web

Link Google to WSU Library Databases

You can link Google Scholar to the Winona State University databases. Please read these instructions and substitute in Winona State for the university name (Note: do not included "University" for the university name otherwise you will not find WSU linking in Google Scholar Settings). Thanks to Hunter College Library for the basic instructions.