The Virtual Earned Scholarly Average

"How can I tell if it is a scholarly source?"
Evaluating Web Sites.

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This worksheet is a way to help you think about the scholarly worth of a source, or, in other words, how reliable the source is as evidence to prove or disprove a thesis. Most scholars don't use a point system like this to figure out what a site's E.S.A. (earned scholarly average) is.

	Age of Source
3 points	Updated within last month.
2 points	Updated in last three months.
1 point	Updated in last six months.
0	Older than last six months or doesn't say.
	Author (creator of the page, not the site)
3 points	Associated with a university or college.
2 points	Associated with a Think Tank (e.g. Brookings Institute, Policy Research Center, Stanley Foundation, etc.)
1 point	Commercial source or news media (e.g. Volkswagen, New York Times, ABC News, CNN, etc.)
0	Student or no credentials.
	Type of source
Add 1 point	If it is a statistic from a government source.
Add 1 point	If there is a method indicated on how to contact the author (e.g. Email link, telephone number).
Add 1 point	If the link actually works.
Subtract 1 point	If you believe the main purpose of the site is to sell you something.
Add 1 point	If the site has a bibliography.
Add 1 point	If the site has footnotes/references.

Scale:

5 points or above = Excellent source, provided it is relevant to your topic.

3-4 points = Worth a look.

0-2 points = Forget it.

Check the bottom of the page. That is where you will usually find when it was last updated and a link back to the creator.

Check links back to the homepage. If it is published by a college, university or learned society, it is probably a scholarly journal. If it is refereed, it will usually say so.