The document provides guidelines for evaluating the currency, accuracy, authority, and purpose of research sources. It emphasizes the importance of context for determining currency, the need for verifiable and reliable information, and assessing the credibility of authors and organizations. It also discusses the potential biases in research and the desired outcomes or motivations behind the content.

1. Rhonda K. Kitchens, Librarian, Big Bend Community College

2. Currency
● Currency is measured in terms of the context of the
research question or approach.
● Legal and Medical research is generally considered up
to date for the past three years
● If the topic is history, primary or secondary research
from the timeline of the topic would be appropriate
● If the topic is changing frequently or in the midst of
change, a shorter range of under a year may be more
appropriate
● If the author/organizations sources are older or
inappropriate for the topic, their content is suspect

3. Relevancy
● Does the information meet the needs of your research
question?
● Is the audience for this research appropriate for your
research? Is it too easy or too advanced?
● How does this research compare to other sources
you have identified? Does it align with your research
needs?

4. Accuracy
● Does this resource represent truth, fairness, and
reliability?
● Can statements made in the resource be
verified?
● Does it have a list of citations?
● Does the work read free of spelling or
grammatical errors?
● Is statistical information presented in a fair
fashion?
● Are tables, methodology, and data clear?
● When explaining scientific results was the
sample population large or inclusive enough to
form a clear result?

5. Authority
● Who are the author(s)/organization?
● What are their affiliations/organization?
● Is there a clear ethics statement?
● Is this a topic the author/organization has skill or
knowledge in?
● If on the internet, is there a .org, .gov, .mil, and
.edu that attaches the resource to strong
reputation?

6. Purpose
● Why does this article exist? To inform? To
entertain?
● Is there political, ideological, religious or personal
bias?
● Does the authors journal or organization provide
a statement or mission about their purpose?
● Does this work inform, persuade, entertain, or
teach?
● Are facts being presented ? Is this an emotional
appeal?
● What are the functions of pathos, ethos and logos
in this resource.