21 Evaluating for Relevance

Relevant sources are those that pertain to your research question.

One thing to consider early on as you determine relevance is the effect that timeliness (or what is sometimes referred to as the source’s currency) should have on deciding whether a source is relevant. Your research question will help determine that.

For instance, if your research question is about the street artist Banksy, then you probably should consider only the most recent sources relevant since his work only became most notable in the 21st century.  However, if you research question is about the discovery of insulin by Canadians Banting and Best, then sources from the early 20th century are relevant.

But suppose your research question is about the Edo Period in Japan (1603-1868) or about Robert Falcon Scott, who explored the Antarctic from 1901-1913. In these cases, an item from 1918 might be just as useful as an item from 2018 (although new information may have been found in the 100 year gap). But something from 1899 about Antarctica or from 1597 about Japan would NOT be current enough for these research questions.

These example research questions also give you two more clues about how to treat the timeliness or currency of sources as you consider relevance:

• Because of how long ago they lived or occurred, it would be unusual for many sources on Robert Scott or the Edo Period to have been published very recently. So, unlike sources for the life sciences, whether a source is very recent should probably not determine its relevance to those research questions.
• Primary sources would be considered especially relevant to all three research questions. Examples such as Scott’s diaries and expedition photographs, as well as paintings, literature, clothing, and household items from the Edo Period go a long way to explain faraway people and times. (See Primary, Secondary, & Tertiary Sources.)

Where to Look in Websites, Articles, and Books

The information below tells where to look and what questions to ask yourself to assess three kinds of sources’ relevance to your research question. Whatever you do, don’t stop evaluating a source after looking only at the website’s name or the title of another source.

Save time by looking in particular places in sources for information that will help you figure out whether the source is relevant to your research project. Much of our advice below comes from “Speedy Reading” in The Craft of Research, second edition, by Wayne Booth, Gregory Colomb, and Joseph Williams, 2003, pp. 108-109.

On a website, check the name of the website and its articles for clues that they contain material relevant to your research question. Consider whether the timeliness of the site should have an impact on what information can be considered relevant. Skim for any dates, datelines, ‘What’s New’ pages, and press releases to see whether any website content works with the time considerations you need. Page creation or revision dates that you find can also help.

Skim any site map and index on the website for key words related to your research question. If there is a search box on the site, try the key words of your research question. Do you see enough content about your keywords to make you think parts of the website could be helpful?

For an article, think about the title. Does it have anything to do with your research question? Consider whether time should have an impact on what sources can be considered relevant. If so, is the publication date within your parameters? Also skim the abstract to see whether the article works with the time considerations you need. For instance, if there is a time period in your research question, does the article address the same time period or was it created in that time period?

Look at the abstract and section headings in the article to locate the problem or question that the article addresses, its solution, and the outline of the article’s argument for its main claim. Can those help answer your research question? Do they make it seem the article will give you information about what others have written about your research question? Do they offer a description of the situation surrounding your research question?

Do the article’s introduction and conclusion sections help you answer your research question and/or offer a description of the situation surrounding your question so you can explain in your final product why the question is important? Check whether the bibliography contains keywords related to your research question. Do the sources cited by the bibliography pertain to your research question?

For a book, check whether the title indicates the book could be about your research question. Consider when the book was published (usually listed in the library catalog or on the back of the book’s title page). Is it too early or late for any time constraints in your research question? The table of contents and chapter summaries can help indicate if the book addresses your research question. Do they also give you information about what others have written about your research question? Do they offer a description of the situation surrounding your research question? Skim the index for topics with the most page references. Do the topics with the most page references pertain to your research question?