An important step in the research process is to evaluate the print and electronic sources that you locate.  The quality of the sources you use will determine the quality and reliability of your paper.

General Hints

• Be sure to follow your instructor's guidelines on the type of materials that are required for the assignment. For instance, you may be required to use articles from scholarly publications, not popular magazines.

• Be aware that although an article or book has been published, in print or electronic format, it does not guarantee that it is a reliable source.

• Remember that anyone can publish information on the web and claim to be an expert.

• A professional looking web page does not determine the quality and reliability of the content.

•  Select information that is recent unless you are conducting historical research.

• Examine the author's credentials. Is this person an expert in the field?  You may want to consult Science Citation Index to locate other articles or books by this author.  Are the journals that this author published in reputable in the field?  Are reviews of this author's work favorable/disputed?

• Articles found in professional journals are normally peer reviewed and can therefore be considered a reliable source.

• Are the methods used in the study valid? Does it use a reliable test method?

• Do the results and interpretations of the data seem valid and reasonable based on the results of the study?  Are the results significant?

• Articles found using an electronic source such as the OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center, SIRS, or Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe can be considered reliable sources.

• Articles found on the World Wide Web need to be evaluated critically.  Remember that anyone can post information to the web - and make it look credible!!

• Consider whether the site is affiliated with an institution, company, or organization. If so, measure whether this adds credibility to the information or creates a bias.

• Take note of when the site was last modified or updated.

• Avoid sites that appear to be advertising a product or a service.