How to Evaluate Books

To evaluate a book, look for:

Purpose: Why was the book written? To:

• inform?
• persuade?
• entertain? 
• teach how to do something?
• give an overview?

Publisher: Who published the book:

• A university press?
• Commercial publisher?
• Professional or Trade Association, Institution, or Research Center?
• Government (US, state, local)?
• Vanity (self-published)?
• University theses and dissertations (considered published by the university)  

Date of Publication:Is it:

• up-to-date,
• out-of-date, or
• timeless?  

Authority/author: Is the author an expert in this field? 

Bibliography: Scholarly works always contain a bibliography of the resources that were consulted. The references in this list should be in sufficient quantity and be appropriate for the content. Look for:

• if it exists,
• if it is short or long,
• if it is selective or comprehensive,
• if references are primary sources or only secondary sources,
• if references are contemporary to the book or much older, and
• if the citation style is clear and consistent. 

Usefulness: Is the book relevant to the current research project? If it is useful, does it:

• support an argument
• refute an argument
• give examples 
• contain information that can be challenged?
• Coverage: Is the book comprehensive or is it an overview?

Audience: Is the book for:

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

Illustrations: Are charts, graphs, maps, photographs, etc. used to illustrate concepts? Are the illustrations relevant? Are they clear and professional-looking?

Context: Information is contextual. Who, what, when, where, why, and how will impact whether or not a resource is useful to you.

Organization and Content     

Credit to Colorado State University Libraries 

How to Evaluate Journal Articles

To evaluate a journal article look for:

Purpose of Article: Why was the article written? To:

• persuade the reader to do something?
• inform the reader?
• prove something?

Type of Journal: For college-level term papers, information should be obtained mostly from scholarly journals. 

Organization and Content: 

• Is the material organized and focused?
• Is the argument or presentation understandable?
• Is this original research, a review of previous research, or an informative piece?

Bias (of the publisher)

Date of Article 

Bibliography

Usefulness: Is the article relevant to the current research project?

Authority/author:

• 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?

Coverage: Does the article cover the topic comprehensively, partially, or is it an overview?

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

Illustrations: 

• Are charts, graphs, maps, photographs, etc. used to illustrate concepts?
• Are the illustrations relevant?
• Are they clear and professional-looking?

Context: Information is contextual. Who, what, when, where, why, and how will impact whether or not a resource is useful to you. If you are doing a survey of popular culture, for example, popular magazines would be a useful primary source.

Credit to Colorado State University Libraries 

Because ERIC Documents include a large scope of work, of varying degrees of scholarliness, limit your use of ERIC Documents to high quality “research reports” or “evaluation studies.” The “publication type” section of the ERIC Document citation will indicate type of publication.

 • What type of publication is this? Report/Research, opinion piece, paper, conference proceeding, classroom guide, dissertation, pamphlet?

• Who authored or sponsored the publication?

• Is there a scholarly or professional organization associated with the publication?

• If a conference proceeding or paper, where was it presented? When was it presented? 

How to Evaluate Internet Resource

To evaluate a journal article look for:

Purpose - What is the Purpose of the Resource?

Web Sites serve a variety of purposes:

• Entertainment          
• Information           
• Instruction           
• Business        
• Personal Opinion

Sometimes the internet address, specifically the domain, can provide information on the site’s purpose: 

.org               Organization

.com             Business or commercial site

.net               Network organization or an Internet service provider

.edu              Higher education institution

.gov              Federal government site

.in.us            State government site, this may include public schools & public libraries

.uk                 United Kingdom   

.au                 Australia      

~                    The tilde often indicates a personal page.      

Timeliness – How up to date is the Information?

• Is there a date on the website?
• Has it been updated since it was first published?
• How important is to use the latest information for your topic?

Authority – Who is the Author?

• Is the author's name available? Does the author have an affiliation with an organization or institution?
• Is the author an authority on the topic?  Are the author’s credentials provided?
• Has the author provided contact information?   mailing address,  telephone number,  e-mail address?

Accuracy/Bias – Is the Information accurate and objective?

• There are no standards or controls on the accuracy of information available via the Internet. Anyone can express their opinions and thoughts along with disseminating scholarly research.
• Is factual information or statistics cited? Is there a bibliography included?
• Compare the content to other resources, electronic or print, for assistance in determining accuracy.   If the information on the website contradicts all other resources, it is probably inaccurate.
• Does the website propose a particular point of view or bias? 
• Is the site objective? Are both sides of an issue provided?
• Does the page contain advertising? This may impact the content of the information included.  Examine whether there’s a relationship between the advertising and the information provided.  Is the advertisement simply providing financial support for the page?  

IFLA / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)