Evaluating research Materials

In the process of gathering research materials for our papers or projects, it is very possible that we will encounter numourous resources presented in various formats including books, articles, and Web sites. However, not everything we find on ourtopic will be suitable or trustworthy. We will need to evaluate our sources by taking factors such as scope, audience, timeliness, authority, reference sources, etc. into consideration. The following guides are aimed to help us develop these essential skills to make good judgments.

1.     The author

·  Who is the author?

·  What is the author's occupation, position, titles, education, experience, etc.?

·  Is the author qualified (or not) to write on the subject?

2.     What is the purpose of writing the article or doing the research?

3.     The audience

·  To what audience is the author writing?

4.     The research

·  What method of obtaining data or conducting research was employed by the - author?

·  Is the article(or book) based on personal opinion or experience, interviews, library research, questionnaires, laboratory experiments, case studies, standardized personality test, etc.?

5.     At what conclusions does the author arrive?

6.     Does the author satisfactorily justify the conclusions from the research or experience? Why or why not?

7.     Are there significant attachments, or appendixes such as charts, maps, bibliographies, photos, documents, tests, or questionnaires? if not, should there be?

We have to apply three evaluation criteria: reliability, validity, and currency. Asking the questions summarized above will help us determine the reliability, validity, and currency of information.

If we want to be successful in our speech we are suppose to check all information during preparion any of the topic, and we have to feel very confidence and comfortable about the sources.