Evaluating Research:
Table of Contents/Headings
When glancing down the table of contents in a book or the headings in an article, you should ask yourself the following questions:
Your better quality publications will tend to have clear, straightforward titles and headers that make it easy for you to locate information in the publication.
Discussion
It would take only about two minutes glancing at the table of contents of Audrey J. Roth's The Research Paper: Process, Form, and Content to conclude that it is likely a credible sources because Roth covers the important concepts of the process. Use of the word "likely" in the previous sentence is not meant to imply that there is something wrong with Roth's text or that further examination will uncover a serious flaw. Instead, "likely" is used because a quick glance in not sufficient to make a firm conclusion. And passing any single item is not sufficient to judge the overall credibility of a source.
Special Notes on Web Pages
"Nothing succeeds like excess" is a good rule to follow if you are decorating in the Victorian tradition or making a crazy quilt. But it is a bad rule to follow in designing a web page.
Web pages that are too busy, whose graphics are not integrated with the text, that employ unnecessary animation, or cluttered with advertisements appear to be unprofessional. And that which is unprofessional appears to lack credibility. Just like mother told us, "First appearances count."
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What topics are covered?
