Tips to help evaluate information
Relevance – this will depend on your information need. When evaluating information, consider;
- Purpose and coverage - does the information fulfil your information need and cover what you need to know.
- Currency and timeliness - is the information current or out-of-date for your topic
Reliability – Consider the following criteria to establish how reliable information may be;
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Authority or authorship
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Objectivity - is there bias?
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Accuracy – is the information accurate and complete?
Read the Evalutating Information online tutorial for further explanation and examples.
Get started with your own search strategy
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Use the search strategy worksheet to create your own plan for searching databases and the Library's catalogue
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Understanding journal types
Journals may also be called serials, periodicals or magazines. There are three basic types of journals:
* academic / refereed journals are the most relevant for research purposes
* trade journals provide industry or single topic information
* popular journals are useful for study in areas of current affairs and popular culture
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Academic journals |
Trade journals |
Popular journals |
| Refereed | Generally not refereed but may contain individual refereed articles | Not refereed |
| Specialised audience | Industry or topic based | Wide audience |
| Reports on original research | Includes case studies and industry news | Broad content focusing on current events and news |
| Often includes review articles | Short articles | Short articles |
| Uses technical language | Uses jargon from the industry / profession | Non technical, often simple language |
| Includes author's affiliation | Authors details may be included | May not include an author |
| Includes abstracts | May include a short abstract | No abstracts |
| Includes many references | Usually only 3-4 references | No references |
| Advertising usually restricted to an industry / profession | Includes extensive advertising |
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