Evaluating Information--Part 1 An Introduction to Evaluating Information Authored by Pamela Eyerdam and Ken Burhanna The text only versions provide a linear presentation of the Hands-On flash modules.  The Hands-On modules often incorporate images and interactive presentations to help demonstrate and support the text.  These images and interactive features are lost in the text only format.  Users can supplement their reading of the text versions by going onto the World Wide Web and visiting the web sites and doing the searches that the text indicates.  This is most easily done by printing the text version and using it as a guide. After completing this module you will understand: 1. The Role Evaluation Plays in Your Life 2. The Evaluation Process 3. How to Evaluate Search Results Introduction Not only does evaluation play a key role in conducting successful research, it also plays a key role in our lives. We make dozens of evaluative decisions everyday, and the decisions we make shape our lives.  This lesson will examine the role of evaluation in our lives and research.  Then it will get you started by showing you an approach to evaluating search results. 1. The Role Evaluation Plays in Your Life It might be surprising for you to realize how pervasive the act of evaluating information is in your life.  Even more surprising might be the fact that you're likely pretty good at it. You've been evaluating information your whole life. The American Heritage Dictionary, 4th edition, provides two definitions of evaluate: 1. To ascertain or fix the value or worth of. 2. To examine and judge carefully; appraise. An important key to successful evaluation is to know what you want, what you're looking for.  When you appraise or judge information you need to be aware of both the standards of credible information and your needs in that situation. Evaluation in Our Daily Lives - Determining what to eat for breakfast - Deciding which bus to take - Selecting a music CD to listen to - Purchasing car insurance - Scheduling classes for next semester - Planning a night out with friends - Doing your grocery shopping - Research your ENG 102 topic All of these regular activities involve evaluating information. So if you've been evaluating information your whole life, why do you need to work through this lesson about it? A good question, the kind of question a good evaluator might ask. The answer is that the information you find during research presents some unique challenges that you don't encounter on a regular basis.  This lesson and others in this section will introduce you to some of these challenges and give you some practice working with them. 2. The Evaluation Process Evaluating information for research is a process, and it begins the moment your research project is undertaken.  If you reflect back on some of the earlier lessons on the Hands-On site, you will recall how evaluation has played an important role in other areas. - Analyzing your writing assignment - Evaluating potential topics - Analyzing your topic for keywords - Differentiating scholarly from popular journal articles - Evaluating and selecting indexes. So evaluation isn't simply a step along the way of doing our research.  It's a process we return to over and over as we learn about our topics. Evaluation is an especially important skill during three parts of the research process: 1. Evaluating search results to decide which items may be appropriate for your topic and which items to disregard.  For example, you do this when you sort through a list of journal citations. 2. Analyzing the content of a book or an article is critical to your success as a researcher.  Go to lesson on Analyzing Content. 3. Evaluating information on the web has many special challenges that we'll discuss in a separate lesson called Evaluating Information on the Web. 3. Evaluating Search Results The goal of evaluating search results is to identify sources (books, articles, etc.) that appear promising enough that you will take the next step and go find them. Evaluating search results focuses on analyzing: - the number of results - citations on the list - catalog and database records - and abstracts if available Evaluating the Number of Results You need to make some overall observations about your results.  Try answering these questions: - Did you find too much or too little? Too much could mean you need to focus or narrow your search.  Too little could mean your search was too narrow, and it needs broadening. - Did you find a lot but none of it is relevant to your topic? Results that aren't relevant could indicate that you didn't use good search terms.  Try reformulating your search. Evaluating the Citations Evaluating search results focuses on examining some basic elements of the citation and /or database record: - author - publication date - title - publisher or publication - any other available information in the record (abstract, notes, etc.) Let's briefly consider each element. Author:  you may not be able to complete this part of your evaluation until you access the source or review other source, so this is a preliminary evaluation.  Here are some important questions to ask right away regarding the author: - Have you heard of the author before or has your instructor mentioned the name? A yes answer could indicate that the author has some credentials. Searching in the same index or database you found the author's citation in, do you find other records by the same author on the same subject? An author with several publications in a field is likely to be respected and considered an expert.   - Is the author or the item associated with a reputable institution or organization? Major university presses and professional organizations will select skilled, expert authors to represent them. Date of Publication - Based on the publication date, is the resource out of date for your topic? You first need to know the importance of currency in relation to your topic.  The topic of genetics will require very current sources due to the frequent developments in this area.  However, the topic of African-American voting rights in the U.S. would place less of an emphasis on currency because it is based in history. Title - Does the title of the item relate to your topic? Titles can be catchy and figurative or they can be descriptive and literal.  Sometimes the title can tell you right away that the item is not right for your needs.  Other times the title will offer little help, and you may need to consider looking at the content of the item. Publisher or Publication - Do you recognize the publisher or publication?  Has the publisher published other sources you are familiar with? Note the publisher or name of the publication and try to develop an understanding of who publishes quality information. - Is the item published by an University Press? Publication by an University Press usually indicates that the source is of a scholarly nature. Other Information to Look for in the Bibliographic Record: - Does the citation include notes on contents or an abstract? Notes on contents or an abstract will describe the content of the item and can be a big help for you in deciding whether or not to follow up on the item. - Does the record mention whether or not the source includes bibliographic references or an index? The presence of either indicates a more authoritative, scholarly source. Always look the record over carefully; you may find other helpful clues. This concludes An Introduction to Evaluating Information