Brief guide to information resource types and key points to evaluate information sources.

1. Library skills
and resources
for BIO1000H
• INFORMATION
RESOURCE TYPES
• EVALUATING
INFORMATION
RESOURCES

2. Information resource types
POPULAR INFORMATION SOURCE
Audience: general public
Purpose:
◦ Entertain
◦ Inform
◦ Persuade
Not peer reviewed / not checked by
experts
SCHOLARLY INFORMATION SOURCE
Audience: researching community
Purpose:
◦ To advance knowledge
◦ To report on research findings
Checked by experts for the research
field
Reliable, authoritative

3. Information resource types …
Books …
◦ Comprehensive coverage of a topic
◦ Bibliographic elements
◦ Author/s, title, year and place of publication, publisher
◦ Reference materials:
◦ concise and authoritative information
◦ A good place to start when exploring on new topic

4. Information resource types …
Books …
◦ Reference materials …
◦ Dictionaries:
Henderson's dictionary of biology,
◦ Encyclopaedias
Access Science, Encyclopaedia of cell biology, Oxford
Reference

5. Information resource types …
Journal Articles
◦ Report of current research findings compiled in a journal
◦ Most journals are checked by subject experts before publishing:
peer reviewed
◦ Bibliographic elements
◦ Author/s, year, article title, journal title, volume, issues/parts,
page numbers / article numbers, permanent identifier

6. Evaluating Information
Resources

7. Evaluating information sources
Basic criteria
◦ Authority: Who is the author? Who published it?
◦ Accuracy or Quality: is the information research based? Peer reviewed?
◦ Objectivity: What is the purpose? Who are the intended audience?
◦ Currency: How current is the source?
◦ Coverage: what is the scope of the content: time period, geography? …

8. Thank You
For more information
Library guides: BIO1004F - Biological
Diversity or Biological Sciences
Library guide
For consultation & specific query: email
me at awot.gebregziabher@uct.ac.za
or use Ask a Librarian facility