In the course of your research you will come across several sources and will have to decide which ones to use for your work and which ones to discard. What are the right criterias to choose the sources? Here are some tips for evaluating them:
- Relevance
Does the document include information within the limits set by your research question? Or does it deal with your topic from a point of view that isn't all that relevant?
Does the document cover the topic in detail and depth, or does it only provide a general overview?
After sorting the results by relevance, you can get a quick idea on the content of a document by first reading the abstract (if available), and scroll through the table of contents, introduction, and bibliography.
- Authoritative
Who is the author? Is the author a scholar specializing in that research field? Is the author affiliated with a university or research center? Is the study frequently cited by other authors? Is the study peer-reviewed?
- Current and up-to-date
You can decide to focus on the most recent documents, sorting them by date of publication, or limiting the time span (for example, you can decide to display only documents published in the last 5 years).
Keep in mind that there may be sources published further back in time, but which might be essential for your topic.
- Accuracy
Are there citations within the text to support the reported information, and a bibliography? Is the document peer reviewed?
Is the text properly edited (e.g., without grammatical or typographical errors)?
- Scope (academic or non-academic)
If you decide to use non-academic sources, such as a trade magazine or newspapers, try to understand whether the purpose is inform, entertain, or advertise a product or service. Who is the author addressing? Is the author’s point of view unbiased? Is the information provided appropriate for your research level, or does it provide only a superficial view? Is the target audience an expert in the field or does the author write for the general public?
