Evaluation tools
Here are a few examples of tools you can use to learn more about your information source.
Ulrichsweb
Ulrichsweb is a directory of magazines and journals. Look up the title of a source you are considering using in your paper. Scroll to Content Type to see if it is an Academic/Scholarly source or a Consumer source. As discussed earlier, this gives you an indication of why this information was created and can help you to critically evaluate it.
Tip: Check your assignment criteria. If you have been asked to use Peer Review sources for your assignment, use Academic/Scholarly sources.
Example: An Academic/Scholarly source
Example: A Consumer source
- Ulrichsweb This link opens in a new windowProvides detailed information on more than 300,000 periodicals (serials). Includes academic and scholarly journals, e-journals, peer-reviewed titles, popular magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and more.
Web of Science
Web of Science shows the number of times that an article has been cited by other papers. This is one indicator of whether an information source is being consulted and referenced by the scholarly community. (See also Google Scholar's Cited References).
- Web of Science Core Collection This link opens in a new windowMultidisciplinary database of journal articles and conference proceedings, used for citation analysis of research. Includes access to EndNote Basic, a web-based version of EndNote.
Journal Citation Reports
Journal citation reports is used to search for the impact factor of journals. It is one method of assessing sources by the scholarly community's use of the particular research to further the scholarly conversation on this topic.
- Journal Citation Reports (JCR) This link opens in a new windowDetermine impact factor, immediacy index, and Eigenfactor metrics for over 11,000 scholarly journals in all areas of science, technology, and social sciences.