These websites are used for the SPCM 101 Evaluating Sources instruction provided by the University Library faculty, University of South dakota.
· Origin (who is the author, publisher, organization?)
· Purpose (what are the goals of the speaker? Of the organization?)
· Authority (where does the speaker’s authority or expertise come from?)
· Objectivity (is the information presented in a factual way or is emotion used to influence the audience?)
· Accuracy (how accurate is the information being presented?)
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Books |
Articles |
Web Pages |
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Editors review and select; process can be long involving many rewrites |
Editors review and select; articles can go through several rewrites |
No one/Everyone is "in charge" |
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Publishers try to maintain reputations for quality |
Publishers try to maintain reputations for quality |
Anyone can create and "publish" anything; there are no standards |
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Libraries select based on reviews (written by experts) |
Scholarly journals select articles based on peer review |
Search engines are not selective on the basis of quality |
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Libraries select based on publishers' repuations |
Periodical indexes select journals based on quality |
Only subject indexes select sites based on quality |
Created by Dr. Carol A. Leibiger, University of South Dakota