Evaluating What You Find

Why? How? What?

Bibliographic Criteria
Authority
Currency
Intended Audience
Source/Publisher

Content Criteria
Accuracy
Coverage/Scope
Objectivity/Bias
Quality
Relevance

Activity

 

Authority

It is important to ensure that the author of a work is qualified to write on the subject. To be considered an authority, an author should be acknowledged as being influential in his or her field of work. Often, you can find information about an author by searching for the author’s name in library catalogs or periodical indexes. When determining the authority of an author, ask the following questions:

• Is the author identified?

• What are the author’s credentials and educational background? Does the author have a degree in the subject of the article or work?

• Is the author a scholar in the field or a staff writer/reporter?

• Is the author’s institutional affiliation reputable?

• Has the author published other works on the topic?

• Is the topic of the article written in the author’s area of expertise?

• Have other authors cited the author?

Examples:

• Authority in Print Sources
  
  
  
  

• Authority in Websites