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How to Evaluate Books |
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Students often ask, “How do I
know if this is a good book for my paper?” Well, there are several ways
to evaluate a book for appropriateness. Unfortunately the criterion does
not include, “a short book with lots of pictures.” On the bright side,
there are several simple ways to tell if it might be the right book for your
needs.
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Obtain: |
Ask Yourself: |
Author(s)
or
Organization |
Who is it?
Look for info on
the back cover, side flaps, preface or introduction.
What credentials
does the author have?
Look for degrees, awards,
honors, work experience, etc.
Is the author an
expert in the field?
Look for
additional writings, research, name mentioned in bibliographies of
other experts, etc.
Who does the
author work for?
Look for
organizations devoted to specific purposes, commercial profits,
political influence, etc.
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Purpose |
Why was the book written?
Persuasion, support or refute of an
argument, entertainment, informative, long/short subject
overviews, journalistic documentation, etc.
Does the book
present researched facts or personal opinions?
Personal
opinions or biased viewpoints are not grounds to reject a book.
Just be sure you can recognize the difference between the two.
Who is the target
audience?
Age levels, other
professional researchers, general public or maybe an organization
with a specific viewpoint
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Content |
Is the information well organized?
Look at the Table
of Contents and ask yourself if the book is arranged in a logical
understandable progression
Is the information
on the subject complete?
Does it offer more
than one viewpoint or perspective?
Is the book well
researched, well written
and properly edited?
Look for primary
research results, case studies, survey results, etc.
Look for
typographical and grammatical errors
Are illustrations used to clarify
concepts?
Look for clear professional looking
charts, graphs, maps, photographs, etc.
Illustrations should add to the
subject instead of replacing or detracting from the text
Can the
information presented be verified through other sources? If not,
would it be easy to challenge the information or to declare it to be
wrong?
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Currency |
When was the book written?
Know the time
needs or your topic
When was the book
published?
Look at the
copyright date on the backside of the title page.
Is the
information still current, valid, or useful (timeless)?
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Bibliographies
and References
(Scholarly
works must contain a bibliography of resources consulted)
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Does the bibliography look complete and
comprehensive enough to cover the topic?
Are the references
listed current or much older?
Is the citation
style understandable and consistently written?
Does the book use
primary and/or secondary sources? (see "What's
the Difference Between Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources?"
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