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Media & Culture

Quality checklist

As you are doing your research, make sure you evaluate the quality and usefulness of the sources you consult.  To do this, have a think about some key quality criteria that will help you work out if the source is a good one to use.  The video and checklist below will help you do this.

Video:

link to video


Checklist:

Currency

  • Is the source up to date?  Does it need to be for your needs?                   
  • When was it published - can you easily find this information?
     

Reliability

  • Has your source been officially published? 
  • Has it been reviewed (by a publisher or peer-reviewed for articles)?
  • Is the content backed up with references to other sources that support it?large tick icon

Authority

  • Who wrote it?  What is their background and qualifications? 
  • Do you trust that they are qualified to write about the topic?


Purpose

  • Why was this source written? 
  • Do you trust the purpose behind it? 
  • Does the author want to share research or contribute to the understanding of a topic, for example? 
  • Is it trying to sell you a point of view or product (and if so, you will need to be aware of this if you do use it in your research)?