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Reliability
If you are searching
a GALILEO@UGA database that indexes only scholarly
journals, then you have no worries about reliability. These
articles are reviewed by scholars before they are published. However,
if you are searching the internet or popular
journals, you have to be your own scholarly reviewer. Scholarly
vs popular: What's
the difference?
As you browse
through your results, ask yourself these questions:
1.
Who wrote it?
- Is the author
or organization an expert in the field?
- What else
has the author or organization published?
- Is the author
affiliated with a reputable school, organization, think tank,
etc?
- Has he/she
published scholarly books and articles as well as popular articles
or websites?
If
you are not sure who wrote a website, go to the 'root' of the URL
to get to the homepage for the site, then see if this page has an
'About Us', or similar link. The root of a URL will usually end
in three letters, such as .org, .com, .gov,
.edu, etc.
original URL: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/animal.htm
root
URL:
http://www.cdc.gov
2.
When was it written?
- Is this current
information or outdated research?
- Does your
topic require up-to-the minute research?
- If it's a
website, when was the site last updated and are its links active?
3.
Why was it written?
- Who is the
intended audience? General public? Academic?
- Is it trying
to persuade the reader or simply inform?
- Does it use
emotional language or neutral language?
- Does it provide
footnotes or other supporting documentation?
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