The document discusses how to evaluate resources for a research paper by assessing them based on 5 criteria: authority, objectivity, quality, currency, and relevancy. Authority refers to the author and publisher's background and reliability. Objectivity considers whether the information is based on facts or opinions. Quality examines the standard of writing and completeness of information. Currency addresses how recently the information was published. Relevancy determines if the information relates to the research topic. Students are advised to ask questions about each source to determine how well they satisfy these evaluation criteria.

1. Sam-Ang Sam, PhD

2. 1 Resource Evaluation
1.1 Authority
1.2 Objectivity
1.3 Quality
1.4 Currency
1.5 Relevancy
2 Examples

3.  Now that you have found resources that you think will be
helpful to write your research paper, it is important that
you evaluate them carefully.
 Not all resources are created equal.
 You have to carefully evaluate the material you have
found to make sure it is credible and appropriate to use
for your academic writing.
 It is possible to determine the credibility of a source by
evaluating it in terms of the 5 different categories below
(Frantz, 2014).

4. Authority refers to the
background and reliability of the
author and publisher.
You must find out if they are
knowledgeable and reliable
enough to provide accurate
information.

5. Objectivity: You must decide if the
author is giving you clear, well-
researched information or if they are
writing based on their opinions and
ideas.
Authors who provide information
according to their opinions may not
be offering the full information or
their information may not be based
on facts.

6. Quality refers to the standard of the
writing and information presented.
Is the information detailed and well
written?
Has the author taken time and care
in putting together the information?
Is the information complete?

7.  Currency refers to how recently the information was
written.
 If an article was published a long time ago, the
information might not be reliable.
 More discoveries might have been made or old research
may have been disproven.
 It is always good to get current research, especially if you
are researching a topic like science or medicine where
new discoveries are made.
 It is also important to find current publications if you are
going to use statistics or figures in your academic writing.

8. Relevancy refers to whether
or not the information
relates to your topic.
Will it help you answer your
research question?

9. How can you figure out if your
resources are authoritative, objective,
quality, current, and relevant?
Well, the easiest way is to ask series of
questions about each resource.
The next section, taken from the
University of Oregon Libraries will
help you do this (Frantz, 2014).

16. File: L6_source_evaluation.ppt
Date: 06/01/15
Running: 1:30