Evaluating scholarly material should include more than just checking to see if the source is peer reviewed and reading the abstract of an article.
Investigate the publisher or journal.
Google the publisher or journal name. Is it affiliated with a scholarly or professional society? A university press? A reputable academic publisher? Use Wikipedia to evaluate the reputation of the publisher.
Look at author credentials.
Use the information in the source or Google, if necessary. Where do the authors work? What organizations are they affiliated with? What are their credentials and degrees? You can also do a search on their names to see other articles they have published.
Consider the currency of the information.
When was the information published? Do you need current information because of your topic? What are the requirements of the assignment? Where you given a specific date range? When was the theory or idea first introduced in the literature?
Consider the relevancy of the information.
Is the information relevant to your topic? Is there something you can find that's more relevant?
Review the methods used in the research.
Do you understand the graphics, charts, and figures?
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