Session 4:

Some general criteria for evaluating texts

Author

Publication

Audience
Who is the intended audience and does it include you? For what level of reader is it intended?

Content
What type of book or article is this—original research, synthesis, or textbook? What are the
book’s or article’s goals? Its structure? Its scope? How relevant is its content to your topic and
thesis? Does it acknowledge alternative or contradictory perspectives? Can you check its main
points against other sources?

Significance and contribution to the field

Possible focus questions:
- What is the author’s aim?
- To what extent has this aim achieved?
- What does this text add to the body of knowledge? (This could be in terms of theory, data
and/or practical application)
- What relationship does it bear to other works in the field?
- What is missing/ not stated?
- Is this a problem?
Methodology or approach
- What approach was used for the research? (eg: quantitative or qualitative, analysis/
review of theory or current practice, comparative, case study, personal reflection etc)
- How objective/ biased is the approach?
- Are the results valid and reliable?
- What analytical framework is used to discuss the result?
Argument and use of evidence
- Is there a clear problem, statement or hypothesis?
- What claims are made?
- Is the argument consistent?
- What kinds of evidence does the text rely on?
- How valid and reliable is the evidence?
- How effective is the evidence in supporting the argument?
- What conclusions are drawn?
- Are these conclusions justified?
Writing style and text structure
- Does the writing style suit the intended audience? (eg: expert/non-expert, academic/non-
academic)
- What is the organising principle of the text? Could it be better organised?
Internet
- Online sources vs. printed sources
- Anyone can publish anything they want on the Internet—there is little monitoring or quality
control!
→ How to evaluate electronic/online sources?
Evaluating electronic sources
*Identify the purpose of a website
* Evaluate the content of a website:
- Its appropriateness
- its source (its sponsor/owner)
- its level of technical detail
- its presentation
- its completeness
- The links (cross-references)
* Evaluate the accuracy of a website :
- Information about the author: name? credentials? contact information?
- Information: complete? Original source? In summary form?
- Opinions vs. Facts?
- Assumptions: Opinions? Facts? (Un)supported? Misconceptions? Bias?
- Citation format: List of works cited?
* Evaluate the timeliness of a website→ check
- the date on which the Website was mounted
- the date when the document you are using was added
- the date when the site was last revised
- the date when the links were last checked.

The skills of searching through academic resources

Primary and secondary research
 Secondary research /desk research / library-based research involves the summary,
collation and/or synthesis of existing research
 Primary research/ field research /empirical research involves the collection of data that
does not already exist, which is research to collect original data
Primary research
 Types of primary research: action research, experimental research, case study,…
 Types of research methods: interviews, surveys, observations,
 Basic structure (Literature review/ theoretical framework, Methodology, Research ethics,
Results, Discussion,..)
 Language patterns used in each stages of the research
Types of literature sources
 Primary sources
 Secondary sources
 Reference sources
 Internet-Only Sources
Primary sources
 Original Books & Textbooks (factual, fictional)
 Original Newspapers articles
 Academic and Trade Journals
 Government Reports and Legal Documents
 Press Releases and Advertising
 Dissertations (Results and Discussion Sections)
 Survey reports
 Product and patent descriptions
Secondary sources
 Review articles in research journals
 Dissertations (Literature Review Section)
 Textbooks
 Newspaper reviews
Difference between primary sources and secondary sources
 primary sources (reported by individuals who conducted the research)
 secondary sources (summarising the primary sources)
Reference sources
 Encyclopedias
 Catalogues
 Handbooks and guides
 Directories
 Reference lists
Internet-Only Sources
 Websites
 Weblogs / Blogs
 Message boards, discussion lists, and chat rooms
 Multimedia
Evaluating sources of information
Evaluating Bibliographic Citations (Đánh giá thông tin thư mục)
- A bibliographic citation provides relevant information about the author and publication as
well as short summary of the text.
- Consider the author, the title of the work, the summary, where it is, and the timeliness of
the entry.
- Look at the keywords to see what other categories the work falls into. Evaluate this
information to see if it is relevant and valid for your research
For online sources
- Search academic journals, articles = full articles in PDF or WORD format with a clear
bibliographic citation
- If available, check for the number of citations.

Evaluation During Reading

- “Read critically: Trust no one”
- Read the preface
- Check for a list of references or other citations
- Determine the intended audience
- Try to determine if the content of the source is fact, opinion, or propaganda.
- Is the language objective or emotional?
- Read the preface
- Check for a list of references or other citations
- Determine the intended audience
- Try to determine if the content of the source is fact, opinion, or propaganda.
- Is the language objective or emotional?
- How timely is the source?
- Do some cross-checking.
- How credible is the author?
- Are there vague or sweeping generalizations that aren't backed up with evidence?
- Are arguments very one-sided with no acknowledgement of other viewpoints?
Practical Tips
 Record bibliographical data systematically and scientifically
 Take necessary notes
Useful websites / academic databases
 http://scholar.google.com
 http://academic.research.microsoft.com
 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/index.htm
 http://www.eric.ed.gov/