Library Research Skills: Evaluating Internet Sources: Relevance

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Question: You're doing a research paper on how polar bears are affected by glacial melting in the Arctic. Is this source relevant to your topic?

DAPPR Score: 0

Explanation: Although Nature is a scholarly journal and a very reliable source, this article does not fit the topic. It is about severe weather patterns and storm damage. Glacial melting is not mentioned in the article. 

In order to use a website for college research purposes, it is critical to know if the information is well-researched and can be trusted. In order to figure this out, you must find out where the information is coming from. This means that there absolutely must be some kind of works cited or reference list. If it is a news article, it should have quotes from knowledgeable individuals and/or blue hyperlinks that take you to outside sources. There should be something to help you verify the information on the page. If you can’t verify the information, DON’T USE IT!

Below is an example of a college-appropriate source that uses quotes and hyperlinks as evidence:

With relevancy, one of the most important things to consider is if the website is appropriate for your topic. This may seem like common sense, but if the student is not looking carefully they could choose a site that barely covers their topic. An example would be if a student has a topic on transgender students and restrooms in schools and finds a site that mainly discusses transgender people in the military. Yes, they both deal with transgender rights, but ultimately the focus is completely different.

It’s also important to think about relevancy in terms of the type of information that is needed. For example, if a student is doing a one-page paper on what neurotransmitters are, an encyclopedia-type site that contains a brief overview, might be appropriate. However, if a student has a ten-page paper on how neurotransmitters affect depression, that same site would not be appropriate, because it lacks the depth that is needed for such a complex subject.

This leads to the most important aspect of relevancy, and that is college appropriateness. It is ALWAYS important for a student to ensure that a website is COLLEGE APPROPRIATE. The website must be scholarly. If it is short and uses simple language, it probably isn’t scholarly and therefore is not college appropriate. It might be meant for a younger audience or meant non-educational purposes. Students need to find sites that contain in depth information or analysis on their subject, especially if they have a big research project.