Research Process: A Step-by-Step Approach: Step 3 - Evaluate

Ask:

• When was the resource created or last updated?
• How up-to-date is the information?
• Is the date of material appropriate for your research?
• Has the author written more recent information on the topic?
• Are the statistics and data current enough for your topic

How to verify

• Most articles are dated
• Look at website footer for a copyright date
• Visit the homepage of site if web search takes you to internal page for newer content
• Search the author's name in a web search to see if updated information or article available

Ask:

• Can you determine the source of the information provided on the page?
• Can you tell how the research was done to provide the information?
• Can you verify the information presented using another resource?
• Is the information written for a public or scholarly/academic audience?

How  to verify

• Check bibliography, if available, by randomly searching for a sample of references to ensure same content as included in your resource.
• Check hyperlinks
• Compare the content with what you already know or have seen in other resources
• Are credentials or an "about" page available to provide more information about creator?

Ask:

• Who is responsible for the content of the page?
• What are the author’s credentials?
• Does the site include contact information?

How to verify

• Look for "About" page on website for more information
• Search the author using a search engine to confirm authority on subject and background
• If no author given, look for sponsoring company/organization and search for more information.

Ask:

• What is the purpose of the source?
• Who is the target audience?
• Why was the source created?

How to verify

• Finding out more about the author or sponsoring company should provide sense of purpose of source.
• As you read, is the language used relate more to a general audience or to someone with specialized subject knowledge.
• The more ads on a page suggests a commercial purpose, which may indicate a bias.
• As you read, content presented should feel balanced and impartial.