Library:Research Skills For Engineering Students/Module 02/Page 02

No matter where you get your information, you need to make sure you critically evaluate each source to ensure it’s appropriate for your research! Many publications have a particular bias or agenda, which may not be obvious at first glance.

Here are a few criteria that could help you in your evaluation:

• Authority
  • What are the author's credentials and affiliation?
  • Who publishes the information?
• Accuracy
  • Based on what you already know about the topic or from reading other sources, does the information seem credible?
  • Does the author cite other sources in a reference list or bibliography, to support the information presented?
• Scope
  • Is the source at an appropriate comprehension or research level?

There are other criteria to consider as well, such as currency, objectivity, and purpose. For more information, see UBC Library’s Evaluating Information Sources.