Unit 8: Evaluating Books & Articles

Lesson 12: Reviews

Consider any reviews published about the resource. You can find critical reviews of books in Book Review Digest, Book Review Index, online subscription databases, and scholarly journals. Ask yourself the following questions to determine if the reviews are informative and reliable.

1. Is the review published in a scholarly journal or reliable resource? Be suspicious of reviews published in non-scholarly sources.
2. Is the reviewer an expert in the field?
3. What are the reviewer’s comments about the author and subject of the work?
4. Is the work considered a valuable contribution to the field?
5. Do reviewers agree about the value of the work, or is there a lack of consensus? If so, try to find at least three reviews.
6. Does the reviewer mention other, more reliable sources? If so, look them up to get more and perhaps better information about your topic.
   
   
   You have completed Unit 8. Continue to Unit 9 to learn how to evaluate websites.