Evaluating Sources - Print
Print Evaluation Criteria
(Click on each of the criteria, above, for further
details)
It is also worthwhile to take into account the intended audience for
the work
Accuracy
How reliable is the information contained in the work?
Are the facts it contains accurate?
Can the background information that was used by the author be verified
for accuracy?
Does the work contain a comprehensive bibliography? - which will allow
you to check the sources which the author has made use of.
Authority
Is the author well known and well regarded in the field?
What are the author's qualifications for writing on this topic? (Not
only with respect to formal qualifications!)
Is the publisher well known and well regarded? (Well regarded publishers
of printed works check that the manuscript meets set standards before
it is published. This often involves the work of an editor, and peer
review)
Coverage
What topics are covered in the work?
What is the breadth of the coverage? (Are all aspects explored?)
What is the depth of the coverage? (What is the level of detail included?)
What time period is covered by the work?
To what extent is the material fact based vs opinion based?
Currency
Is the content of the work up to date?
Naturally this is not really an issue with regard to most Primary Source
material.
Currency is more of an issue with regard to Secondary Sources - newly
discovered Primary Sources can shed new light on a subject, and sometimes
well known Primary Sources are reinterpreted so that the validity of
long held views or opinions is brought into question. So it is important
to take into account the most recent works on a subject.
Objectivity
Is the information written with a minimum of bias?
Does the author take into account all aspects of the topic?
