Purpose: What is the purpose of the publication? Is it to inform or persuade? Is it biased? Does it provide more than one point of view? Does a bias diminish the usability or credibility?
Author: Are the author’s credentials, such as educational background, occupation, affiliation or position listed? Many resources do not have one author as they are published by a group of authors, an organization or even a government body. If so, are they or the entity they represent specialists in the subject area?
Audience: Who is the targeted audience? Is it the general public, academic community, scientific community or is it specialists in a particular field?
Language: Is the language scholarly or general? Is it geared toward the layperson or someone with knowledge in the field? Does it include terminology or acronyms specific to an industry?
Documentation: Does the work include bibliographies or references, charts, graphs or other evidence that supports the research presented?
Currency: Is it important that your sources include the latest findings or does your topic permit or require historical research?
