Criteria for Evaluation
Authority
Authority is a measure of the credibility of the source. To determine authority, you need to examine several things.
Author/Creator
- Who is the person who created this source?
- What are her/his credentials? What makes him/her an expert on this subject?
- How is s/he regarded by others in the field?
- Who are the authors cited in the reference list?
Publisher/Distributor
- Who publishes this material, or makes it available?
- Has the material been subjected to the referee process prior to publication?
Accuracy
- Are the facts presented in the material correct?
- How do you know? Can they be verified using an outside source?
Currency
When was the material published? Look for the copyright date for the original publication, and also the dates of any revisions. Copyright information usually appears in the front pages of books and magazines. Web sites are usually dated at the bottom of the home page. Ask yourself these questions:
- Does it update other sources and build on past research?
- Does it reflect current thought on the subject?
- If information of this type is subject to frequent change, how often is the source revised? Do you have access to the most current version?
- If the material was not published recently, what changes have there been in the field that might affect the reliability of the information?
Try placing your collected resources in chronological order. Can you see a pattern of progression for research on the topic? Remember that the value of older information sources depends upon your field of study, and the approach that you are taking to writing about your topic. It is important to be sure that your paper reflects current developments in your field. It is also important to remember that information found using a computer is not necessarily more current or more accurate than a print source.
Clarity
- Are the author's arguments presented clearly? Is the information well-organized? Can you identify the main points?
- Is the argument repetitive or convoluted?
- Are there errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation?
- Do graphical elements like tables, charts, or illustrations help to make the author's point?
Purpose
- For what purpose was this source created? To inform or to persuade?
To explain or to sell? To document or to entertain?
- Who is the intended audience of the publication? For whom was the author writing?
Content
Content
- Is it a primary source?
- Does this work help form the foundations of research in the field?
Logic
- Are the author's arguments supported by the evidence presented?
- Are the underlying assumptions reasonable? Do they make sense?
Objective or Subjective?
- Is the information presented as fact or opinion?
- Does the source present a balanced view of the material?
- Does it favor one interpretation over another?
- Does the author make use of language to provoke an emotional reaction?
Accounting for Bias
No information sources, however carefully created, can be totally free from bias. Information is created by human beings, and human beings each have their individual frames of reference, created by personal experience, and influenced by social, cultural, and biological factors. (Even data that are generated by computer reflect the frame of reference of the programmers.) Bias is not inherently bad, it's just a fact of life. Some forms of bias are bad, because they cause people to make value judgments based on irrelevant factors. Other forms are totally neutral, like preferring peas to brocoli. Remember, too, that no one's frame of reference is set in stone. It changes as people grow and learn.
When you evaluate information sources, you need to take the creator's frame of reference into account. Here are some of the questions that you should consider.
- What do you know about the author that might affect how s/he thinks about this subject?
- Based on what you have learned about this topic, what has been left out? What choices has the author made about including and excluding relevant information? How does this affect the validity of his/her position?
- How have developments in society affected the way in which this information is viewed?
Leslie Murtha, 19 December 2000