• Introduction
• Relevance
• Reliability
• Assessing books
• Assessing articles
• Assessing websites
• Summary

Relevance

Relevance is the extent to which the information contributes to answering the research question. This concerns the main question, sub-questions and search questions. The information sources and information resources found will need to be assessed on content, form and topicality.

Content and level of the information

• Correspondence of the information with the question and objective
• Does the information answer your (research) question?
• Does the information give an overall picture or does it deal with exceptions or specific areas?
• Does the quality and level correspond with the formulated (research) question and objective? If you are doing research into depression, an article from the Cosmopolitan or Time Magazine will not offer the required level of quality. Articles from professional publications or academic journals would be more suitable (see Choosing information sources).
• Completeness: Did you overlook any relevant information and have you taken all selected opinions into consideration? It is often not possible to be 100% complete and it is usually also not necessary.

Form of the information

Does the type of information resource (book, article, thesis, etc.) suit your information need?

If you are looking for background information, it may be better to consult a book or a website than to read an in-depth research paper. When writing a light-hearted article in university magazine Folia, you will less likely need to study doctoral theses (see Choosing information sources).

Topicality

The word topicality is usually used to describe recent events or developments. To determine whether information is still up-to-date (current), check whether the information from a particular year still applies to the current situation. Sometimes, certain facts will not change. Therefore, an older book or article may still be current. Publications which retain their significance are known as key publications. Usually, it is important to find up-to-date information, but not necessarily in every case. A historian will be mainly looking for older, often not current, information. All will therefore depend on your (research) question and objective.