AP Research, North Gwinnett High School

Questions to ask:

• Have you used a variety of sources?
  • Compare and contrast the information you find with several authors and and array of sources such as books, Emory dissertations, journal articles, and studies.
  • Comparing and contrasting the information will help you in identifying any bias and enhance the validity and reliability of your research.

• What are the author's qualifications and affiliation (i.e., where does the author work)?

• What is the date of the publication? Is the information out-of-date for your topic?

• Who's published it?

  Is it a university press -- in which case the material is more likely to be scholarly -- or a well-known publisher?

• Is the information valid and well-researched?

  That is, are the author's ideas supported with research documented by footnotes, a bibliography, and/or a works cited page?

The "Five Criteria," used for evaluating WWW sites, can be used when evaluating information from any source (magazine articles, books, newspaper articles, etc.)