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Learn to Research

A guide that will teach you the basic steps to completing research for your assignments.

Resources and Tools

Evaluating Information

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Is your information credible?

  • A good research assignment starts with S.T.A.R.* quality information. 
  • Evaluate the quality of the information sources you find using the S.T.A.R.* criteria. 

Source:

  • Who is the author?
  • Who is making the information available?
  • What are their credentials or qualifications?
  • What makes them an authority on this subject?
  • Is the source biased or expressing opinion or trying to sell something?

Choose sources that are credible and relatively objective.

Timeliness:

  • When was the information published or last updated?
  • Does the date of publication matter to your assignment?
    • For example, if you are working on a current event, or a science or health topic, you will need something that has been published recently.
    • If you are working on a historical topic, currency may not be as important.

Accuracy:

  • Is the information free of spelling, grammatical and technical errors?
  • Where did the information come from?

Look for information or references that can be verified.

Relevance:

  • Does this information meet the requirements of your assignment?
  • How will it help answer the question you are asking?

Choose information that will help you build a strong argument, illuminate concepts, or provide the highest quality, most appropriate, and most relevant evidence.

* (Emotions):

  • Does the writing or information cause you to feel strong emotions?

Objective, fact-based information should not influence any strong feelings when you read it - this is a way to tell that the writing may be biased or opinion-based.

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