Once you have located a resource (book, article, etc.), you need to determine if you can use it in your research. To do so, you must evaluate the source based on various important criteria - especially if it is something you found on Google. Here is a useful test to help you determine if a resource is right for your project.
Currency: How old is the information source? How important is its currency to your project?
Relevance: Does this information source contain information that you can use? It may be good, scholarly data, but not have information that you need.
Authority: Who wrote the information source, and who published it? Is it an expert in the field? Is it a scholarly press? Be especially careful about this when evaluating web sources.
Accuracy: Is all of the information correct? To find this out, you will need to verify it with other sources.
Purpose: Why did the author create this information source? To inform, persuade, market? Does this reveal any bias in the source? This may or may not rule it out as a good source, but you must be aware of the purpose.
