Other Important Information for Research Papers

Check Other Resources

Consider searching other resources on this checklist if appropriate to your topic.

Evaluate Your Information

Use this checklist to evaluate your sources:

• Is it relevant to your topic?
• Is the date of publication appropriate?
• What are the author's qualifications? Educational background, past writings, experience.
• What is the author's purpose in writing: to inform? to persuade?
• How was the information obtained?
• Is the information covered fact, opinion, or propaganda? Facts can usually be verified. Opinions evolve from the interpretation of facts.
• Are the author's conclusions or facts supported with references?
• Are there footnotes or a bibliography?
• Is the work primary or secondary in nature?
• How do critical reviews rate the work?
• Who is the publisher? What group controls the publishing company?
• Is it popular or scholarly?

A scholarly article:

• provides footnotes or a bibliography
• is written by a researcher in the field
• the author is usually affiliated with a college or university
• reports on original research or experimentation
• may be published by a scholarly professional association or university press
• has few glossy pictures
• has graphs and charts as illustrations

A popular article:

• rarely provides footnotes or a bibliography
• is written to entertain, is usually short and in simple language
• is written by a staff or free lance writer, possibly a scholar
• does not state the qualifications of the author
• usually published by commercial enterprises
• includes pictures or photographs, and is slick in appearance
• reports on information second or third hand