EVALUATING RESOURCES

Eng 216A Research and Information Literacy

Professor Susan Acampora

IMPORTANT!!!

•The strength of your research depends upon the legitimacy of your sources!!!!

•If your sources are weak, your argument won’t hold.

•You can actually destroy your own point with bad back-up sources

As A General Rule:Before you use ANY source remember :

Evaluate It

Ask Questions:http://lib.colostate.edu/howto/evalbk.html

Colorado State Library Research Evaluation Resource

•http://lib.colostate.edu/howto/doing-r.html

EVALUATING BOOKS

Types of Publishers

•Commercial publisher? For Profit•Professional or Trade Association,

Institution, or Research Center? Focuses on information related to a particular field

•Government (US, state, local)? Tax funded, usually objective

•Vanity (self-published)?

Publisher: Who published the book?

•A University press? SUNY Press - academic

Commercial Publishers?

•For Profit•Can cover all fields•Scholarly or Popular Topics

Penguin PressViking Press

Professional or Trade Publishers▫American Institute of Physics ▫American Society of Civil Engineers ▫American Management Association ▫American Library Association

American Library Association

Government Publications

•Taxpayer funded•Can be city, state, or federal publications•Often impartial unbiased studies•Can include law related materials such as

U.S. Congressional Hearings •Often published Washington D.C. The U.S.

through the Government Printing Office (GPO)

Self Publishing

Author HouseX Librix

•Authors pay publisher to print their work•Lax or no peer review•Sales and editing responsibilities up to author•Sometimes published by individuals

themselves•Easily purchased through Amazon and Barnes

and Nobel…

Author as Website Creater and PublisherPsychopathFree.com (March 20, 2013)

Independent Publishing Groups

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (May 17, 2013)

Tips for Evaluating Bookshttp://lib.colostate.edu/howto/evalbk.html

• Purpose: Why was the book written? To: ▫ inform?

• For example: sequence of historical events, results of lengthy study or experiment ▫ persuade?

• For example: to change point of view, outlook, beliefs, or behavior ▫ entertain?

• For example: most fiction, humor, gossip ▫ teach how to do something?

• For example: resumes, cover letters, business plans, needlework, woodwork ▫ give an overview?

• For example: textbooks, encyclopedias

How is the book organized?

• Is the table of contents arranged haphazardly or in an order fashion.

•Do the contents list topics you are looking for?Is the table of contents logical, easy to find topic

• Is there an index?• Is there an appendix?• Is there an introduction to the book or a

preface?

When was it published? • When was the book published?• Science and Health topics require currency. Out of

date information can be hazardous to one’s health.

• Books in the Humanities can remain relevant whether they are old or new

• Know whether your book is ▫Up-to-date, Diabetes Treatment 2015▫Out-of-date, 1958 Medical Dictionary▫Timeless A classic? Frankenstein or an historical

review of the book

Is there a Bibliography?

• Scholarly works• Is it of reasonable length - too short, too

long• Does it have a good balance of articles and

books primary and secondary sources• Does it have mostly popular or scholarly

sources, or both?• Does it have mostly old references or a

combination of old and new• Is the citation style clear and consistent

Who wrote the book?

•What are their credentials?•Is the author an expert in this field? •Where is the author employed? •What else has he/she written? •Has he/she won awards or honors?

•Look at the blurb •Look at the About Section•Look up reviews

Consider Book Reviews•Subject Databases

Education Research Complete PsycInfo

•Academic Search Complete- Ebsco  ▫Multidisciplinary database

•LISTA - Library, Information Science, and Technology Database▫Librarian’s database with book reviews

A recent book by author, Charles Seife exposes Internet hoaxes.

•NEW BOOK

Just Because the Internet Told you so, How Do You Know It’s True?

AND…Why should we consider Charles Seife’s Opinion?

For Example:•Experts in the field have reviewed his

book•Peer reviews provide praise and critique,

a fair starting ground.

A note about Amazon Reviews

•Look for Editorial Reviews•Look for Author Biography

Self published books may be useful and popular as anecdotal information but they are not considered authoritative or scholarly

And they will show: Mostly Customer Reviews

Scholarly Review on Amazon

Scholarly Book: About the Authors Section on Amazon

Non Scholarly Book, Self PublishedNo author background, No Editorial Reviews source may be used anecdotally (personal account) but not as an authoritative source.

Tips for Evaluating Articleshttp://lib.colostate.edu/howto/evaljrl2.html#bias

•What is the Purpose of the Article?•Was it written to:• persuade the reader to do something? For

example: vote a certain way, purchase an item, attend an event

• inform the reader? For example: results of a study/experiment, what happened at an event

•prove something? For example: that a behavior is bad/good, a method works/doesn't work

Type of Journal:

•Scholarly?•Popular?•Trade?

Is there a Bias?

•Is the journal objective or partisan?•Is the journal: left/liberal? •right/conservative? •center? •an alternative press? •published by a political action (PAC)

group?

Audience•For what type of reader is the author writing?

This ties in with the type of journal, as popular magazine are geared to the general reader, while trade magazines are for the specialist and scholarly journals are directed at researchers, scholars or experts in the field. Is the article for: general readers,

•students (high school, college, graduate), •specialists or professionals, •researchers or scholars?

Date of Publication: • When was the book published?• Science and Health topics require currency. Out of

date information can be hazardous to one’s health.

• Books in the Humanities can remain relevant whether they are old or new

• Know whether your book is ▫Up-to-date, Diabetes Treatment 2015▫Out-of-date, 1958 Medical Dictionary▫Timeless A classic? Frankenstein or an historical

review of the book

Bibliography:• Scholarly works must include a set of references or

a bibliography.• Questions to consider regarding Bibliographies • Is it of reasonable length - too short, too long• Is it selective or comprehensive, • Does it have a good balance of articles and books

primary and secondary sources• Does it have mostly popular or scholarly sources, or

both?• Does it have mostly old references or a combination

of old and new• Is the citation style clear and consistent

Authority•Who wrote the book?•What are their credentials?• Is the author an expert in this field? •Where is the author employed? •What else has he/she written? •Has he/she won awards or honors?

•Look at the blurb •Look at the About Section•Look up reviews

Library Databases are a good starting place to find reliable articles:

Limit your searches to scholarly articles and peer reviewed articles

Academic Search Complete

Be sure your article has a works cited or reference page verifying their sources

Library resources are the best starting place.But of course you will also use the WEB…We all do!

Be sure toApply Your Greatest Discernment to what you find on The INTERNET

The Joys of the Internet Age

•Free Information•Fast and Easy •Communities that share ideas•International/Global perspectives•Everyone has a voice•A Wealth of information available

On the other hand:

Dangers•Information Overload – How to sort

through it?•Whom do you trust? •True or Hoax?•Plagiarism???? ( If your paper requires a

Works Cited page, shouldn’t sources be listed on the net?)

•Bias – What’s the slant? What do they want you to believe?

•What if the information is wrong?

Take particular care when searching THE INTERNET

*Anyone can publish on the Web and rarely do they cite their sources. How do you know they are who they say they are???

*Few sites are subject to editing or peer review

*What do companies do with your personal information or searching habits? Some sites push information they think you are interested in based on your past searches – How can you break out of that loop?

Be Discerning on the InternetYou will find scholarly information along with Uncle Joe’s opinions and Cousin Sally’s case study on a miracle cures, and the latest product ABC Company’s is pushing!

http://daveishome.blogspot.com/2014/03/finding-reliable-information-on-internet.html

Google▫Excellent and sophisticated search engine▫Digs deep into the web to find information

from all types of web domains (com, net, org, gov)

▫Delivers wide range of results very fast▫And delivers a huge amount of results

Google is a good starting point

•A place to get ideas•A place to get search terms you can use in

other databases•A place to get an overview of a topic

•IT IS OKAY TO START WITH GOOGLE BUT ALWAYS CHECK MORE SCHOLARLY SOURCES

Google does not:• Provide free access to academic subscription databases – Your college library does.

• Promise authenticity

• Apply evaluation criteria for you

• Organize results▫Up to you to sort through it all ▫You must determine what is valid, and what is not.

Use it sparingly to get started. To get ideas.

Google is savvy enough to realize this!

And Try Google Scholar

•Google Scholar combines Google search technology to include Gill Library’s holdings and will bring results that are academically oriented.

Try Google Scholar

• From the Library Homepage

https://libezcnr.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://scholar.google.com

So How Do We Become Discerning Web Searchers??? How to EVALUATE:

AUTHORSHIP and AUTHORITY•Who published the document? •What are the author’s credentials? •Are they associated with a trustworthy

institution? Or is it a personal site?•Know the difference between an author

and a webmaster.

BIAS??? Perspective?? Audience??

•What are the goals and objectives of the author? 

•Are the author’s opinions objective or partial?

•Are both sides of a question examined •Or does the author present only that

which supports his/her point of view? •If the information is from a Web site, are

there links to other sites with different points of view?

Tips about Bias??•Does the information sound like an

advertisement?

•Does the author use words that evoke emotions or prejudiced views?  What is his/her writing style?

•Was the information written ONLY for a specific target audience?

• Is the information fact or opinion?

Currency:

•If the information is from a Web site, when was the last time it was updated?  Are there “dead” links?

•Is there more current information available elsewhere?

Tips on Currency:

•There are fields of study that require very current information (sciences), but there are other areas where it may not be so important (history, philosophy)

•Is the information dated? Is it classic?

Documentation:

•Who wrote it and can you contact him/her?

•What sources did the author of the web site use to support their position?

•Does the author provide related links and sources?

•Does the author consider opposing viewpoints?

CHECK SNOPES.org•http://www.snopes.com

What is SNOPES? A fun and helpful site•Founded by Barbara and David Mikkelson from

Los Angeles, CA.•Share a common interest in debunking urban

legends•Together developed Snopes.com•A regular site on "Best of the Web" lists•Won two Webby Awards•Dedicated to researching and exposing hoaxes•They have made mistakes too but earnestly

attempt to seek the truth.

DHMO http://www.dhmo.org

• This site claims that Dihydrogen Monoxide is a dangerous substance that should be banned because:

Dihydrogen monoxide is • A colorless, odorless, tasteless, substance that kills

uncounted thousands of people every year through accidental inhalation.

• Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes severe tissue damage.

• Symptoms of DHMO ingestion can include excessive sweating and urination, and possibly a bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting and body electrolyte imbalance.

Complete Lab Assignment