Best Practices Subject Guides

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Contents

Wiki Standards: Quality

Research Guide Defined:

These research guides are designed to provide a starting point for research in selected subject areas and disciplines. Contained within them include recommended Library of Congress subject headings, relevant databases and journals, key reference and general collection books, selected web sites, and other pertinent resources. They are not meant to be comprehensive, but to offer an overview of the best and most relevant resources and topics. These standards serve to ensure the consistency and quality of our research guides, across disciplines.


Standards for Journals

Criteria for Selecting Top Journals in a Subject Area:

  • Scope and coverage
  • Quality of editing
  • Intended audience
  • Quality of content
  • Production quality: is it regularly published? Has the title changed?
  • Types of content: is it research-based, for practice, provides reviews, or general?
  • Availability: where is it indexed?
  • Research interest of department/ major
  • Curriculum of department/ major


Resources for Evaluating Journals

  • Ulrichs
  • ISI Web of Science


Standards for Print & Electronic Resources

Criteria for Evaluating Print & Electronic Resources

  • Author
  • Date of publication
  • Edition or revision
  • Publisher
  • Title
  • Intended audience
  • Coverage
  • Writing style
  • Scope
  • Format
  • Content
  • Domain name
  • Date of last revision
  • Objectivity
  • Authority
  • Accuracy


Resources for Evaluating Resources

  • ARBA Online
  • Choice
  • Book Review Digest


Standards for Web Sites

Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites:

  • Purpose of information
  • Audience intended
  • Authority of source
  • Domain of site (.gov, .edu, etc.)
  • Supplier of information
  • Currency of information
  • Accuracy of information
  • Subjective or Objective?
  • Quality of information
  • Usefulness of information
  • Research interest of department/ major
  • Curriculum of department/ major


Created by Kristy Padron and Rachael Cathcart

Last Revised 28 April 2008