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1. Relevancy/Title & Description
Books:
- Title, subject headings, table of contents in BobCat
- Table of contents and index in the book.
Articles:
- Title, abstract, & subject headings in the Database record
- First and last paragraphs and keyword passages in the article.
2. Currency/Date of Publication
Books:
- "Search & Discover" record
- Copyright page (behind the title page of the book)
Articles:
- Database record
- Cover, spine, table of contents, or margins of magazine, journal or newspaper
3. How Scholarly
- Language and Presentation (formal/informal)
- Authors who are academics, not journalists
- Footnotes or bibliography
- Original research, not summary of other people’s work
- Quotations of and analysis of primary sources
- Publisher of book or journal (University Press usually scholarly)
- For articles, which database you found it in and how you limited your results, e.g, JSTOR has almost all scholarly articles, Art Full Text has a mix, use the "peer-reviewed" limiter to narrow to only scholarly sources.
4. Extent/Depth of Coverage
Books:
- In "Search & Discover" record, click on the title.
- Number of pages appears next to “Description.”
- Book’s table of contents and index will show you extent of coverage.
Articles:
- Number of pages appears in Database record. Opt for Feature Articles rather than Reviews.
5. Writing
- Appropriate reading level (college vs. high school)
- Check for signs of bias (objectivity vs. subjectivity)
- Assessing the argument
6. Websites
- Who is the author or publisher? (Go to 'About' link on websites)
- What is the mission of the website?
- Who is is intended audience? (Go to 'About' or 'Home' page, or "What we Do," etc.)
- Is there bias or opinion?
- Is there a last date updated on the site? When is it?
- Check the domain: .edu and .org domains are non-commercial (see the 'Google Search Tip' box)
- Remember that much information on the internet is produced by businesses, agencies, organizations or individuals with a certain bias or agenda