Once you have identified your topic and compiled your research material from books, magazines, and the Internet, it is important to analyze the material for such things as credibility, usefulness, importance, and consistency as it pertains to your overall goal.
Evaluating a source can begin even before you have the source in hand. You can initially appraise sources by first examining the bibliographic citation. A bibliographic citation is a written description of a book, journal article, essay, or some other published material. Bibliographic citations characteristically have three main components: author, title, and publication information. These components can help you determine the usefulness of this source for your paper. Further analysis can then be made as to the content contained in the source.
This chapter discusses:
| Bibliographic Analysis | |
| Content Analysis | |
| Distinguishing Scholarly Journals from Other Periodicals |