Engineering Research Strategies

Whatever sources you use in your academic work, it is essential that you are able to evaluate their quality. In this tutorial, you will learn about key evaluation criteria that will help you quickly and accurately evaluate information.  Click anywhere on the image to begin.

The CAARP Test is a list of questions to determine if the information you have is reliable.  Please keep in mind that the following list is not static or complete.  Different criteria will be more or less important depending upon your situation or need.

Currency:

• When was the information published or posted?
• Has the information been revised or updated?
• Is the information current or out-of date for your topic?
• Are the links functional?

Authority:

• Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
• Are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
• What are the author's qualifications to write on the topic?
• Is there contact information, such as a publisher or e-mail address?
• Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source?

Accuracy:

• Where does the information come from?
• Is the information supported by evidence?
• Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
• Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?
• Does the language or tone seem biased and free of emotion?
• Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?

Relevance:

• Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?
• Who is the intended audience?
• Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too elementary or advanced for your needs)?
• Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?
• Would you be comfortable using this source for a research paper?

Purpose:

• What is the purpose of the information? to inform? teach? sell? entertain? persuade?
• Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
• Is the information fact? opinion? propaganda?
• Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
• Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?

UCL Institute of Education. (2011). Tuition and research supervision by experts. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/ioelondon/6143379343. Used under the Creative Commons License.

Consider the following points when reading a scholarly article:

1. Know your research question or argument. Though your question/argument may change or evolve as you delve deeper into the research process, you will want to have a solid idea of your research focus.
    
2. You don't have to read the entire article in order. Start with the abstract which will give you a general summary of the article. If the abstract seems relevant then move to the conclusion or discussion section of the article to gain a better understanding of the article's main claims. At this point if the article does not seem relevant or useful then discard it. However, if the article does seem useful then spend as much time as necessary reading the article.
    
3. Read critically. What is the author's argument? You will need to use your judgment when evaluating each source of information. Further research may be necessary if you find the author to be biased or you do not believe the validity of their argument.
    
4. Read the reference section. Reading the references or works cited may lead you to other useful resources. You might also get a better understanding of the major players in the area you are researching.
    
5. Take notes. How you do this is up to you. Make sure you keep your research question and argument in mind so you can be more efficient when taking notes.
   Created by Rachel Arteaga, CSU Chico: http://libguides.csuchico.edu/c.php?g=462359&p=3163509

Shortcuts to reading journal articles

• Read the abstract first: Titles don’t always give much information. The abstract should give you just enough information to let you know the basics of the article. From this you will know whether you should read on or look elsewhere for your project. Some journals print a list of keywords pertaining to the article as well. These are further clues about the article.
   
• Read the introduction and discussion/conclusion next: These sections will give you the main argument of the article, which should be helpful in determining its relevance to you and your project. You’ll also get a glimpse of the findings of the research being reported.
   
• Read about the methods next: If what you’ve read so far interests you, get a sense of how the research was done. Is it a qualitative or quantitative project? What data are the study based on?
   
• Read the Analysis and results next: If you decide that you are committed to this article, you should read in more detail about this research.

Created by the Department of Sociology, SUNY Brockport: https://www.brockport.edu/academics/sociology/journal.html

When writing a paper or conducting academic research, you’ll come across many different types of sources, including periodical articles. Periodical articles can be comprised of news accounts, opinion, commentary, scholarly analysis, and/or reports of research findings. There are three main types of periodicals that you will encounter: scholarly/academic, trade, and popular (for the purposes of this class, we'll ignore popular periodicals.  The chart below will help you identify which type of periodical your article comes from. 

Text and chart adapted from the WSU University Libraries' How to Distinguish between types of Periodicals guide