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Evaluating Sources: Evaluation Criteria

Guide to understanding "scholarly sources" and evaluating academic quality.

Evaluation Criteria

There are a lot of ways to systematically evaluate a resource. The pages below are some of those. Each has its own pros and cons. None is perfect. BUT, just because none are perfect doesn't mean you shouldn't evaluate a resource. You should be a critical reader and be aware of what you are reading.

If you are working on an assignment and aren't sure about the quality of a resource, use one of these methods and attach the results to the back of your paper (back matter). If it fails your evaluation be very careful with how you deal with it. When in doubt don't include anything from that resource in your paper / project.