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Retrieving and Evaluating
Your Results
Interpreting Search Results
Your search should result in a list of brief citation records,
each representing one publication. Each record will contain several fields
of publication information (such as author, title, etc.). Here are two
examples:
Retrieving Your Results
Books and Other Documents:
Use the Location Code and Call Numbers
to find the publication on a library shelf. You can then check it out,
according to the library Borrowing Policy.
If you are looking for a publication that is not available
electronically or in the library in print, you can request it via UNB Libraries'
Document Delivery service.
Note that “INTERNET” is the location code for e-books—simply
click the “VIEW” button for the item and then scroll to the
“Electronic resource” hyperlink to view the entire book online.
Articles:
Within an indexing database, you may find a link to the full-text article. You may be able to print, e-mail, or save it, depending upon the specific journal. When starting with a full reference obtained elsewhere, you can look up the journal title in the libraries’
e-Journals
database or in
Quest.
If the volume and issue of the journal is not online nor at the library in print,
you can submit a
Document Delivery request.
In addition, special
Distance Education Services are available
for off-campus students who are taking courses through UNB’s College
of Extended Learning. See the back cover for more information.
Evaluating Your Results
Your search will probably result in a lot of information—perhaps
lists of hundreds of publications. How can you choose the best? Here are
some questions to consider when evaluating publications:
Evaluating a Publication Using Only Its Description
- How descriptive is the title? Remember that a
publication may contain information on your specific topic, even
if only a broader topic is mentioned in the title. For example,
a book on New Brunswick history may include detailed information
on Fredericton.
- Do you recognize the author? Are the author’s
credentials or other qualifications given?
- Who is the publisher? A university press, for example,
may indicate a certain level of quality.
- What is the publication date? Note that some topics
require current information, while others require contemporary
information published close to the time of the phenomenon under
study.
- What is the length of the publication? A one or
two-page article is usually not detailed enough for most research
purposes.
- Are there references? Library catalogue records usually
indicate this—look for the phrase “includes bibliographical
references.” Research publications usually have fairly extensive
bibliographies.
- Take a look at the subject headings or
descriptors, as well as any contents notes
that are given. Read the abstract, if one is available,
which will provide a summary of the publication.
Evaluating a Whole Publication (Print Publications
& Web Sites):
Here are five general criteria to consider,
along with specific questions you should ask about web sites.*
1. Accuracy:
Are the facts right? Is any documentation provided? You may need to
double-check some facts yourself with another source you know to be
reliable.
2. Authority:
Is an author listed? What are the author’s qualifications? Remember
that almost anybody can publish information on the internet. Also take a
close look at the URL (the site’s address), which may indicate who
has published the page. Is the domain suffix “.com” (a commercial
site selling or advertising a product or service), “.edu” (an
educational organization, such as a university), or “.gov”
(a government agency)?
3. Objectivity:
What is the purpose of the site? Does it attempt to be balanced, or does
it provide links to other viewpoints? Determine if the information
contains a minimum of bias, or if the author is trying to sway opinion.
Also, consider whether or not the site is intended to be ironic.
4. Currency:
Is a date given? Is it the date created, or last updated? For some
assignments, current information is essential. Also remember that web pages
change overnight, so what you retrieve one day may not be there the next.
5. Coverage:
When evaluating the coverage of the topic (as explained under criteria #3)
remember to evaluate individual sites separately. The author or publisher
of one site is not responsible for the quality of other pages to which their
site is linked. Furthermore, note that the coverage of the electronic
version of a publication may not be the same as the print version. For
example, an article from an online newspaper may be different from the
article in the print version.
*Based on the web evaluation
framework established by Jan Alexander and Marsha Ann Tate,
Widener University (see Evaluating
Web Resources).
Next: Writing Your Paper and Bibliography
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