When evaluating sources, we look at
quality, accuracy, relevance, bias, reputation, currency, and
credibility factors in a specific work. This article breaks down the
questions to ask yourself when evaluating a source – who, what, where,
when, and why (sometimes we also need to add "how") – it then summarises
these into the 5Ws. What are your 5Ws?
For primary and secondary sources you located in your search, use the ASAP mnemonic to evaluate inclusion in your literature review:
Is it outdated? The answer to this question depends on your topic. If you are comparing historical classroom management techniques, something from 1965 might be appropriate. In Nursing, unless you are doing a historical comparison, a textbook from 5 years ago might be too dated for your needs.
A General Rule of Thumb:
5 years, maximum: medicine, health, education, technology, science
10-20 years: history, literature, art
Check reference or bibliography sources as well as those listed in footnotes or endnotes. Skim the list to see what kinds of sources the author used. When were the sources published? If the author is primarily citing works from 10 or 15 years ago, the book may not be what you need.
Does the author have the credentials to write on the topic? Does the author have an academic degree or research grant funding? What else has the author published on the topic?
Look for academic presses, including university presses. Books published under popular press imprints (such as Random House or Macmillan, in the U.S.) will not present scholarly research in the same way as Sage, Oxford, Harvard, or the University of Washington Press.
Other questions to ask about the book you may want to include in your literature review: