Strategies to help determine the relevance of an information source?

• Analyse your question to determine exactly what information sources are needed
  
  
• Look at the preface, contents, introduction for books or the abstract and subject headings for journals. They may provide clues about purpose and coverage.
  
  
• The style of writing may indicate the intended audience. e.g. do they use technical language?
  
  
• Check the date of publication or copyright date
  
  
• Check for later editions of books. For example, search the title in:
  - UOW Library catalogue
  - Libraries Australia
  
  
• Read more than one resource to gain a balanced overview of coverage of your topic

Exercise

You are to write an essay on human brain function and have found the following information sources. Click on each item below and answer the questions.

Selecting reliable information