Analyze the Bibliographic Citation

You can initially appraise a source by examining the bibliographic citation. A bibliographic citation is a written description of a book, periodical document or website. Bibliographic citations characteristically have 3 main components: author(s), title, and publication information.

Learning how to quickly determine the relevance and authority of a given resource is one of the core skills of the research process.

Authority 
What are the author's qualifications? 
Is the document written on a topic in the author's area of expertise? 
Is the author affiliated with an institution? 
How reputable is the publisher?

Accuracy 
Does the article cite its sources? 
Are the conclusions justified and supported by evidence? 
Is the information reliable and free of error?

Comprehensiveness 
Are discussions of the article available by other authors? 
How reliable and free from error is the information? 
Are the topics explored in depth? 
Does the information appear to be valid and well-researched? 
Does the work update other sources? 
Is the information useful or repetitious?

Validity 
Does the author inform or persuade? 
Is the language free of emotion-rousing words or bias? 
Does the author express a particular point of view?

Ease of use 
Is the resource organized logically? 
Are the main points clearly presented? 
Is the author's argument repetitive?

Page URL: http://www.sac.edu/students/library/nealley/pathfinders/criteval_gen.htm
Web page submitted by DR