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Research Skills for Architecture, Design & Planning

Evaluate your search results

As you conduct your literature search, assess and evaluate your search results, when using:

• Library catalogues
• bibliograpic databases
and
• the Internet

Criteria to assess and select the most appropriate academic and scholarly readings for your project.

A A O C C : Authority | Accuracy | Objectivity | Currency | Coverage

    Authority

      Look for journal articles:

• published in scholarly journals
• edited by an expert panel
• peer reviewed or refereed
• with an author's academic affiliation or qualifications

      Look for web sites that:

• show who is responsible for the content (eg an author or an organisation)
• state the authors' qualifications or affiliation to an organisation
• have a web address (URL) domain indicating that the web site is hosted by:
  • an educational institution (.edu)
  • a government body (.gov)
  • a not-for-profit organisation (.org)

    Accuracy

      Look for books and articles with:

• citations or footnotes
• a detailed index
• a bibliography or reference list

      Look for web sites that:

• acknowledge the sources of their information, or provide a reference list or bibliography
• have no spelling errors
• are not influenced by commercial interests
• are reliable

    Objectivity

      Assess the content of web sites to decide whether they are:

• objective rather than subjective
• balanced - eg. present both sides of an argument
• biased - eg. omit to mention disadvantages or adverse factors
• designed to promote or persuade an audience to a particular opinion or point of view
• affiliated with political, religious or other institutions whose belief systems may influence the writers perspective

    Currency

• What is the date of publication of this book or article?
• What was the date of the last edition?
• When was the last time the web page was updated?
• Is there a bibliography or list of references, and if so, does it show the latest research on this topic?



• Do I need the most recent up-to-date information for my assignment?
• Do I need older or historical information?

    Coverage

• Does the information cover your topic?
• Has it been written for an academic audience?



• Is it sufficiently in-depth, or too basic and general?
• Is it too complex, or too specialised?
• Does it cover the correct time period?
• Does it cover the right location or geographic area?
• Is the material relevant to your assisgnment?

Go deeper

• Plagiarism, copyright and academic honesty
• Journal impact factors and citation rankings
• Peer-reviewed Journals



• How to evaluate resources: Kresge Engineering Library. University of California, Berkeley
• Beck, Susan. "Evaluation Criteria." The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: or, Why It‘s a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Sources. 1997. New Mexico State University

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