Author |
- Who is/are the author(s)?
- What are his/her credentials?
- How much does she/he write in their area of
research?
- How well known is she/he in their area of
research?
- How often does her/his work appear
in other references or sources?
|
Content |
Although a book may not be completely on
your topic; your topic may be covered in one
chapter, or one part of a book or proceedings.
To evaluate content begin by asking:
- What indication is there that all aspects
of the topic is covered?
- What indication is there that the topic
is covered in depth?
- What biases, if any, can you detect?
- How thoroughly does the publication update
other sources, support other
resources, or add new information?
- How is the information consistent, or
not, with other sources?
- What information, if any, is missing?
- How thorough are the bibliographic references/sources?
- How thorough is the table of contents
and index?
If at first you don't find your topic discussed,
try searching for it by synonyms in the index.
|
Audience |
- Who is the publication intended for? Academics
/scholars/ University students? Persons in the
profession? General public? etc…
- Is the
source too elementary, too technical, too advanced,
or just right for your research needs?
|
Date of Publication |
- What is the date of the publication?
- Is your source of information older or dated?
- Some older publications are good at presenting
a historical perspective which may be especially
important for some disciplines or topics.
- Some research though dated may be considered
'classics' in a field of study, or represent
a summary of everything known to date about
a particular topic
- Such research might represent
the starting point of a new discipline, or
the jumping off point of a new way of looking
at a problem.
|
Edition or
Revision |
- Is there a newer edition or
revision of the publication?
- Be aware that multiple
editions or a book may exist. Further
or recent editions will include revisions, changes
in information, updates in knowledge that may
be important to know for your research.
|
Publisher |
- Who
is the publisher? Commercial? Government?
Professional association? University?
- Keep
in mind a reputable publisher does
not guarantee quality!
|
|
Lastly, ask yourself if you would
be comfortable citing this book or journal article in
a research paper.
Using Internet Resources? See our "Guide
to Evaluating Web Sites"
* Adapted from the UBC Library Guide "Criteria
for Evaluating Print Resources" - September 12,
2003 |
Library Catalogue