Start Your Research!: Evaluate

First, go over what you need for your assignment or project.

• Does your research need to be peer-reviewed, a process that checks the article for mistakes before publishing?
• Does your project need a specific type of resource such as a book, article, map, or news article?
• What restrictions or requirements have been mentioned in your assignment prompt?

• Can you tell when it was last updated?
• Does the page list a publishing company or a copyright notice?
• What quality are the images? Do they look plagiarised from somewhere else?
• Does the website cite their sources so you can check the truth of their message?
• Do the hyperlinks work?
• Does the website include contact information for the author? Is their name on the website?

The main consideration should always be the purpose of your project - how will you use the sources to get there? 

Other questions depend on your topic and the project requirements.

Currency

• When was the source published?
• Do you need the newest information?
• How much has the discipline changed since it was published?

Relevance

• What discipline is the source?
• Is the source about your topic?
• Who is the intended audience of the source?
• How useful is the source?

Authority

• Is there an author attached to the source?
• Do you need the author to have certain qualifications? MD? PhD?
• Is there an institution or university that is associated with the article?

Accuracy

• Does the source document its sources?
• Can you tell where they found their information?
• Are there typos or misspelled names or words?
• How confident are you in the accuracy of the statistics and data presented?

Purpose

• What is the purpose of the source? Is it meant to entertain, inform, persuade, sell, or market an idea?
• What tone does the source use? Is it objective or informative?
• Is there an organization that is sponsoring the information?