How to evaluate what you find

Is this source useful to me?

Once you have decided to pursue a source and have it in front of you, you need to decide whether it is as useful as it first seemed. In some cases this will become clear from scanning the contents or index, but you may need to skim a few sections to be sure.

There are a number of factors that you should consider to help you decide whether a piece of information is appropriate to your needs. These include:

• Intended audience
• Currency of the information
• Reliability of the author or information source
• Coverage of the topic that the information provides
• Accuracy of the information
• Level of objectivity of the author