Evaluation of Sources

Watch the video from Stanford University Libraries for an overview about evaluating sources.

Instructions

Read the following evaluation research guide and checklist. You will be using both resources during this course to evaluate the information you find.

As you read the resources, compare and contrast what appears in one resource and not the other. Think about the different types of resources that you might be evaluating.

For example:

Websites
Books in print or eBooks
Magazine articles
Podcasts
Blogs
Trade publications
Scholarly articles

SRJC Libraries Research Guide

The How to Evaluate Information Sources research guide invites researchers to evaluate sources by considering the following:

Source
Authority
Purpose
Objectivity
Currency
Completeness
Relevance

Modern Language Association

The MLA Style Center provides this handy downloadable Evaluation Checklist. It invites researchers to evaluate sources according to the following categories.

Authority
Purpose
Accuracy and Verifiability
Currency and Relevance

Checklist for Evaluating Sources_MLA Style Center.pdf