When considering websites (or really any kind of source), ask yourself these questions:
Authority - Who is the author? What is their point of view?
Purpose - Why was the source created? Who is the intended audience?
Publication & format - Where was it published? In what medium?
Relevance - How is it relevant to your research? What is its scope?
Date of publication - When was it written? Has it been updated?
Documentation - Did they cite their sources? Who did they cite?
During the research process you will need to evaluate a variety of factors in which the information presented plays a role in quality, relevance, authority, and reliability of a source.
| Criteria | Scholarly Article | Popular Article |
| Authorship |
Authors are scholars and experts in the field. Authors are always named, and their institutional affiliation is given. |
Authors are staff writers or journalists. |
| Publisher |
Publishers may be university presses or professional associations. Articles may be edited through the peer-review process by scholars in the same field of study. |
Publishers are corporations, working for profit. |
| Content/Length |
Articles are longer with a focus on research projects, methodology and theory. Language is more formal, technical, using discipline specific terminology. |
Articles may be shorter with a general focus on the topic and written for news or entertainment value. |
| Sources Cited |
Sources are cited and a bibliography or footnotes provided to document the research. |
Sources are not usually cited. |
| Structure |
Article may include these sections: abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, and a bibliography. |
Specific format is not followed. |
| Audience |
Audience consists of academics, scholars, researchers, and professionals. |
Audience is the general public. |