Evaluating Search Results: Library Databases and Internet Sites
As an advanced scholar in your field you should be adept at critically evaluating materials as you find them and relating them to the scholarly framework of your comprehensive examination questions or your research question guiding your dissertation. These skills are vital to successfully completing these next steps. Both the Capella University Library and the Internet provide a rich array of information to choose from, but deciding which tool and which materials to use can be difficult. There are times when it is better to use one type of material over another, depending on the level of analysis or evidence you require. The level of objectivity and reliability will also vary based on the source. Understanding how to evaluate sources is an important aspect of your research. Consider at minimum these three factors of the evaluation process:
Author expertise.
What is the author's educational background?
Is the author's career or job focused on the topic or issue discussed?
What other credentials does the author have to make him or her an authority?
Editorial review.
Does it appear that an editor plays a role in reviewing the information before it is made publicly available? Is there a peer review process? Does anyone check facts and figures for accuracy?
Disclosure of sources used.
If the author refers to other sources of information, does the author include a list of the sources somewhere in the article or on the Web page?
Note: Capella University Library purchases article databases so that you can easily find articles on your topic. These databases are in the hidden part of the Internet because you cannot search them using Google or another search engine. Only learners enrolled at Capella are able to get into them. You can access the Capella University Library through iGuide and also through a link at the bottom of your courseroom pages. If you try to go directly to www.name-of-database.com you won't be able to get into the database because you are not using the library's subscription.
Using the Internet When Preparing for Comps or Your Dissertation
Information from Web sites can be useful for three purposes:
- Finding documents on professional organizations' Web sites.
- Finding statistics and historical data (material out of copyright).
- Finding information to better understand the perspective of people directly engaged in an issue.
Let us look briefly at the third purpose: The opinions and experiences that people share on Web sites can offer a wealth of first-hand knowledge to directly tie researchers' theories and ideas to the human experience. Just as an article from the Journal of Family Psychology can explain the impact of poverty on family housing decisions, information shared by families at the Habitat for Humanity Web site regarding their housing challenges can provide important evidence of the struggles. While researchers can provide a detached view of a problem in their articles, people caught up in the actual problem can often better communicate the direct affect of an issue through their example. You may wish to explore some of these first-hand experiences to better understand the researchers' views in an applied setting. For your comps or dissertation, however, you do not typically incorporate this type of information into your work. It is more commonly for your own knowledge development. If you are unsure, talk with your mentor or committee for further clarification.
Resources
Evaluating Sources
