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Now that
you have found a collection of print and electronic resources
that are applicable to your research, you should evaluate
them. Just as you evaluate any important decision you make
based on a number of questions that you ask yourself, criteria
exist that make it easy for you to decide if you have collected
high quality material to use for your research.
For example,
you don't buy a car just because it's red. Rather, you consider
issues like price, gas mileage, safety, comfort, repair record,
reliability in the environment you will drive it in, and other
criteria. If the car checks out well in all these areas, then
you can confidently buy that red car.
While
deciding on a particular information resource might not be
as crucial a decision as buying a car, the process of checking
out standard criteria still applies. And, if you continue
in research and undertake ever more complex research projects,
these decisions will take on a great deal more importance!
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Criteria for
Evaluating Library Resources
Ask yourself the following questions about the criteria listed above.
The answers will help you decide if the sources you found are authoritative
and useful. These questions apply to print library sources, as well
as World Wide Web resources.
| Authorship
and Affiliation |
 |
- Who is the
author of the book/article/website?
- Is the author
a well-known and well-regarded authority in biology?
- How reputable
is the publisher?
- Does the
author list her/his credentials (e.g., education, occupation,
etc.) for being an authority on the material?
- Does the
author's e-mail address appear so you can contact her/him for
further information?
- Does the
author note her/his institutional affiliation (university, government,
organization, etc.)?
| Accuracy/Verifiability |
| |
Note about Web
resources: Because anyone can make public a website with no review
process, a small but vocal minority of junky websites exists. Added
to this is the thinking that material found via a computer is more
accurate than that found in books and other print resources. Nothing
could be further from the truth! So, it's critical to judge the veracity
of the information presented in websites more vigilantly than you
do print resources.
- How reliable
and free from error (typographically, factually, and conceptually)
is the information?
- Are the
author's methods for obtaining data or conducting research clearly
stated so that the study may be duplicated?
- Does the
author demonstrate knowledge of scientific theories and techniques?
- Does the
material include a bibliography or literature cited section?
- For Web
resources: Do the links provide relevant information?
| Objectivity |
|
- Is the material
presented as fact or opinion?
- Is the information
presented with a minimum of bias?
- To what
extent is the information trying to sway the opinion of the audience?
- For Web
resources: Do the pages act as a virtual soapbox for the author
to present a biased view of a complex issue?
| Audience |
| |
- Is the material
sufficiently scholarly, yet not so complicated that you can't
understand it?
| Currency |
| |
- When was
the material published?
- For Web
resources: Is the last update prominently noted?
- Does the
material present the latest thinking on the topic?
- Is currency
an important factor for the material that is presented?
- Is being
up-to-date important for the topic discussed? If so, does the
material represent the most up-to-date views on the topic?
| Content/Purpose |
| |
- Is the purpose
(to inform, explain, persuade or entertain) of the material apparent?
- What topics
are included in the material?
- Are the
topics that are included explored in appropriate depth?
- If the material
is available in both print and Web format, does coverage differ
between versions?
- Is supporting
material, such as bibliographies; indexes; charts; maps; and other
graphics, included and correctly attributed?
- How comprehensive
is the coverage of the material?
| Comparison
to Similar Materials |
| |
- Are there
other resources that present the same information, and how do
they compare, generally, to this one?
In Conclusion.
. .
- Given your
answers to the above questions, is the material authoritative
and suitable for your research?
Remember:
- Learning
to make educated judgments about the veracity of information is
a useful skill that will benefit you in the library, the classroom,
the laboratory, and as a consumer of information in all forms.
- Evaluation
of print and web materials is an ongoing process.
- Due to the
continual evolution of sites, resources that you find there should
be evaluated as stringently as possible.
- Never use
information that you can't verify.
Acknowledgments:
This page is used by permission of Biology 14 Library Research team.
Credit for this page is paid to Jan Alexander and Marsha Tate at Wolfgram
Memorial Library, Widener University, Chester, PA; Carol Leita at
California's InfoPeople Project; and Elizabeth Kirk at the Eisenhower
Library, Johns Hopkins University. For more information, take a look
at:
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