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How to Evaluate Your Research

There are two things to consider when evaluating a search

  1. Does it adequately address the reason you started the search? This is evaluating the quantity of resources.
    1. Do you have the right information to answer the question, solve the problem, or do the assignment?
    2. Do you have enough resources to complete your assignment? found
  2. Are results correct, reliable, and at the right level of detail? This is evaluating the overall quality of the resources.
For the first point, consider the assignment.
  • Did you find the correct number of resources if a specific number of resources are required?
  • After reviewing them, were they actually on the topic you were searching?
  • Do they provide enough information to complete your assignment?

Note: If the answer to these is no, you might want to check the mini-modules Beginning Your Research and Picking the Right Databases for additional help.

The second point is more subjective and can be more difficult. You'll need to look carefully at your resource to evaluate it.
Evaluating the Quality of the Resources

There are five basic areas of consideration for evaluating the quality of resources and they are, at least to some extent, dependent on the goals of your research. Evaluating print materials and electronic materials have many similarities. The differences will be noted between the two.

  1. Currency or timeliness of the information -currency is relative to your purpose. If you are looking for information on trends in nuclear reactors, you’d want the most recent materials possible. If you are looking at public opinion about nuclear reactors during the TMI nuclear incident, you’d want articles, probably in newspapers and magazines written shortly after the accident in 1979.
  2. Authority of the writer –who has written the book or web site? Do they list their credentials? Are they appropriate for the subject?
  • Look at book jackets, title page, or introductory materials for information about the author.
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On this title page, the authors list their academic affiliation

 

 

 

On this title page, the authors list their academic affiliation

  • On web pages and other electronic resources, information about the author might be listed at the bottom of the page or from an “about” link.
About the U.S. Green Building Council
  • If you find no information about the author and the work seems to be both useful and reliable, check the author in subject specific databases to see if they have published in quality journals or other resources.
  • Another option is to check the web site of the author’s university  to check their credentials.
  • Another way to check authority is to see who published the information. Major university presses and publishers
    lend credibility to the authority. In many cases, a university URL lends some credibility to a web page.

3. Accuracy of information /credibility– is the information correct or valid? If something doesn’t seem right, check it out. While most printed materials have been vetted (checked for accuracy), some have specific points of view that skew the information (see point of view below). It is especially easy to present invalid information on the Web so be sure to verify information and consider the authority of the author.

4. Audience – who was the intended reader? Was the resource meant for a university student or faculty or written for a grade school? Was the goal to present basic information for a general or a scholarly audience?

5. Point of view or bias –relates to the purpose of the resource and the intended audience.

  • Is the resource trying to “sell” a product or point a view?
  • Does it present all sides? Is it sponsored by a company, advocacy group, or political party?
  • Look for information on the authority of the writer or the URL for information on this.
  • Biased information can be useful as long as you recognize the bias.

Points to consider

  • To find out more about an organization, check out their web site and their listing in Associations Unlimited available online from the Libraries' database list.
  • To find out more about a publication, check out the publisher's web site, the title page, or other introductory pages in print. For journals, see Ulrich's Web available online from the Libraries' database list.
  • For additional help contact Bonnie Osif
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