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Information Seeking: Source criticism

How to identify a scholarly article?

  • often peer reviewed
  • includes a list of references
  • includes an abstract
  • usually written by researchers
  • usually longer than one or two pages
  • rarely includes advertisements

Assessing the quality of sources

Reliability of the information producer

  • Is the producer an established agency, organization or expert?
    • new and inexperienced publishers or producers can be reliable too
  • Is the author respected or authoritative in their field?
    • early career researchers' work can be equally trustworthy
    • experience can't be the only criteria
  • Can you tell who has produced the information by looking at the website address?
  • Can you find all or any contact information from the website?

Reliability of the information

  • Is the information thoroughly researched, objective, and reliable?
  • Are all citations mentioned appropriately?
  • Is there a reference list?
  • Can you verify or check the citations?
  • Has the resource been checked by the publisher or editor? Has it been peer-reviewed
    • not peer-reviewed academic papers

Content

  • Is it objective or subjective?
  • Are the content facts or the author's opinions?
  • Is the information unique, or can you find similar information from a more reliable and high-quality source?
  • It's important to be able to tell the difference between websites that include factual information from websites that host only opinions, arguments or disinformation

The extent of information

  • Have different aspects and points of view been considered?
  • How comprehensive or detailed is the information?
  • Is it limited to certain eras?

Topicality of online sources

  • Is the producer or author known?
  • Is the author known as an expert of the field?
  • Is the producer established and recognized?
  • Is the document dated?
  • Is the information up-to-date
  • Is there any more recent information available?
  • Should the information be updated? When was it last updated?

Objective, target group

  • Why did the author or publisher publish the material?
  • Why was it published where it was?
  • To whom is targeted to or meant for?
  • Does it suit your information need?

 

Where to find scientific journals?

Good scientific conduct

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