Print Evaluation Criteria
The main areas to consider when evaluating the usefulness of a source are:
It is also worthwhile to take into account the intended audience for the work
Accuracy
How reliable is the information contained in the work?
Are the facts it contains accurate?
Can the background information that was used by the author be verified for accuracy?
Does the work contain a comprehensive bibliography that will allow you to check the sources which the author has made use of?
Authority
Is the author well known and well regarded in the field?
What are the author's qualifications for writing on this topic? (Not only with respect to formal qualifications!)
Is the publisher well known and well regarded? (Well regarded publishers of printed works check that the manuscript meets set standards before it is published. This often involves the work of an editor, and peer review)
Coverage
What topics are covered in the work?
What is the breadth of the coverage? (Are all aspects explored?)
What is the depth of the coverage? (What is the level of detail included?)
What time period is covered by the work?
To what extent is the material fact based vs opinion based?
Currency
Is the content of the work up to date?
Naturally this is not really an issue with regard to most Primary Source material.
Currency is more of an issue with regard to Secondary Sources - newly discovered Primary Sources can shed new light on a subject, and sometimes well known Primary Sources are reinterpreted so that the validity of long held views or opinions is brought into question. So it is important to take into account the most recent works on a subject.
In general, anything published much before 1980 should be treated with caution. Older material that it still useful is often republished. For example, Arthur Loesser's classic study Men, Women and Pianos was first published in 1954 and republished by Dover in 1990.
Objectivity
Is the information written with a minimum of bias?
Does the author take into account all aspects of the topic?
In the case of an edition of music, does the editor clearly identify editorial additions/amendments, and provide a critical commentary on sources used and editorial method?
|
 |
Maintained by: S.Cole, sbcole@unimelb.edu.au