Evaluating Print (Non-Web) Sources: Evaluation Checklist

·         Who is the author?

·         If no author is listed, who is responsible for the material?

·         What are the author’s qualifications and affiliations?

·         Who is the publisher?

·         Why type of publisher is it? (academic/university, popular, vanity/self-published)

·         What is the publisher’s reputation?

·         What is the publication date?

·         Is the information current or outdated?

·         If there are multiple editions, do you have the current edition?

·         Does the material contain information on your topic?

·         Does it contain the type of information you need (analysis, history, statistics, etc.)?

·         Is it in a format you can access (print, electronic, book, magazine, etc.)?

·         Who is the intended reader of the material? (age, gender, education, religion, political view, interests, skills, general/practitioner/expert

·         Is the information correct?

·         Does is support other information you’ve collected?

·         Are there spelling or grammatical errors?

·         Does it contain references or a bibliography?

·         Does the offer state a personal or professional bias?

·         Does the author thank a particular organization or group?

·         Does the author’s employer support a particular cause or view?

·         Does the language seem impartial?

·         Does the author make wild claims?

·         Is emotional or “loaded” language used?