Consider which results you want to consult further

When looking at the results that you have obtained from searching a database you might want to consider some of the following questions to help you decide which results to consult further:

  • what date was the work published?
  • does the database include abstracts or full text?
  • does the citation include references to the work consulted by the author?
  • can you search to see how many times the author of the work has been cited by others?
  • has the research been picked up and used elsewhere since written?
  • what journals does the database cover?
  • what time period does the database cover?

You will also need to evaluate the actual content of the works in terms of relevance, accurracy, authority and currency. For specific help on this look at the evaluating booksevaluating journals or evaluating web resources pages of this tutorial.