Need Help?

1. Is the author qualified to write this piece?

• Where does he or she work? Institutional affiliation is often listed in databases and should be listed in a publication.

• What is the author’s educational background? PhD., MA, JD: This may be listed in the publication, but you might have to do some digging.

• Can you find biographical information in the publication or other sources?

• Have you heard the author’s name mentioned by instructors?

• Is the author's work cited in other sources or bibliographies?

• A field’s top scholars are cited frequently by other scholars. You should always skim bibliographies and note names that appear in many sources.

3. Is the author from a respected institution or organization?

• Take a moment to learn about the institution especially if is one you’ve never heard of. Most organizations have web sites, but there are also print reference tools which can be useful.

• What are the institution’s goals and values? Could they cloud or bias the person’s research and views?

1. When was it published?

2. Is it out-of-date for your topic?

Depending on the subject area, you may need current research or historical information. As a general rule, the sciences rely more on current research while the humanities often rely just as heavily on historical research.

Are you looking at an article from a scholarly or popular journal? This distinction is very important.

Sometimes a database will tell you by labeling it "Peer Reviewed" or "Scholarly. See Scholarly vs. Non-Scholarly Literature for more help with this or ask a librarian at the reference desk for assistance.

When you are reading, look at the following:

Who is the intended audience?

Is the writing too specialized to understand or too general to be of use?

Determine if it is a popular, general, or specialized source and how this effects the sources utility before spending too much time on it.

1. Are you reading something that is factual, opinion, or propaganda?

• Fact: Information can be verified and is well backed up with quality data and references.
  
• Opinion: Based on fact but uses facts to formulate a unique interpretation.
  
• Propaganda: An opinion that is very biased and attempts to present only one opinion on a topic in order to change your beliefs.

1. If it is a book, look for reviews of the work in sources such as Book Review Digest and Periodical Index.

• Does it get a positive review?

• How does it contribute to the field?

• What works is it compared to and how favorably? Is it controversial?