Reliability

A key to good research is the ability to decide whether information is reliable or not. People tend to accept that anything published is credible. However, this is not always the case. In producing work at university you need to ensure that the information you use is reliable. Evaluation criteria can help you decide this. Look at these criteria below:

Authority

Consider whether the information you find is from an authoritative source.

Some questions you can ask to help you determine this include:

• Who is the author or creator?
  - an authors background may reflect their personal, political or professional bias
  
  
• What are their qualifications and experience?
  - knowing an authors credentials can help you decide whether they are a trustworthy source of information
  
  
• Do other authors quote the work of the author?
  - frequent citations of a particular author may indicate his or her authority in their scholarly disciplinary field

Objectivity