New Resources for Civic Communication & Media
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Opposing ViewPoints Resource CenterA one-stop source for information on current social issues. Drawing on works published by Greenhaven Press and other Gale imprints, OVRC features viewpoint articles, topic overviews, full-text magazine, academic journal, and newspaper articles, primary source documents, statistics, images and podcasts, and links to websites.
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American Periodical Series Online (1740--1900)Provides indexing and full text to over 1,100 periodicals that first began publishing between 1740 and 1900. Included are special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children and women magazines, and other historically-significant periodicals. There are no "peer reviewed" journals in this database.
How to Evaluate Resources (Print & Electronic)
Italics indicates special criteria for Internet resources
1. Reason
- Who is the intended audience?
- Is scope or purpose specifically stated? Do the contents match the stated scope?
- Is the point of view stated? Is there a particular agenda that is being pushed?
- Does it have an established reputation? If so, consider what kind of reputation it represents?
- What is the host's motivation for providing the information on the Web?
(Advertising for profit, part of agency's mission, educational purposes, reporting original research, publicizing a particular agenda) - What information can be gained about the site domain code of the host address?
- .com = commercial source
- .gov = government agency
- .org = non-profit organization
- .net = consortium (profit or non-profit)
- .edu = educational institution
2. Readability
- Is the text well written? Is it written in the language of the discipline or for a general audience?
- Does the source have features, such as charts, illustrations, or a bibliography, that will be helpful?
- Is the information needed to cite the material easily found?
- Is there a lot of information available or is the information it provides limited?
- Are links to other Web resources labeled clearly?
3. Reliability
- Is objectivity a factor?
- Who is the author?
- Does the author provide credentials demonstrating expertise or knowledge of the subject?
- Is the publisher reputable?
- Does the resource contain grammatical, spelling or typographical errors?
- Is there any contact information provided?
- Are facts, such as statistics, accurate, current, and verifiable? Are sources of information cited?
- What sources or methods did the author use to gather the information?
- Is the method of obtaining data accurate and dependable?
- Is it refereed/peer-reviewed or did just a staff editor review it? Peer-review means a scholar or researcher in the related field has reviewed it before publication.
- How frequently is the resource updated?
- Are the links to other resources current? And is the page finished or still under construction?
4. References
- Does the author list where they get their information from
(e.g. footnotes, bibliography, or reference list)? - Are there many sources listed?
- Are the author's sources reliable?
- Can you follow their listed sources to obtain the original information sources?
Gary Klein (Reference Librarian)
Gary Klein
Contact:
Mark O. Hatfield Library
Willamette University
900 State Street
Salem, OR 97301
Work phone: #503-370-6743
Gary's general work schedule (Spring 2020):
Mon - Thu = 9:30am -- 9pm; Fri = 9:30am -- 5:30pm AND ALSO by appointment at other times.
WebsiteWillamette University
900 State Street
Salem, OR 97301
Work phone: #503-370-6743
Gary's general work schedule (Spring 2020):
Mon - Thu = 9:30am -- 9pm; Fri = 9:30am -- 5:30pm AND ALSO by appointment at other times.