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| Appraising the Source of Information |
 Content
It is time to consider whether the content of the book is suitable for your purpose. It is advised to read the preface or introduction in order to see what the author intends to cover. You may also look at the table of contents and the index so that you can get an overview of what is in the book. Chapter headings and the bibliography can also help you to decide whether this book will be useful.
While examining the content of a book, you should ask yourself questions about the following points:
1. Intended Audience
Find out what type of audience the book was intended for. Is it intended for a general audience, in which case the materials may be simpler, or is it aimed at a specific audience who may have specialized knowledge? In this case, the materials might be very technical or too advanced.
2. Reasoning
You should see whether the book you are using is covering fact or opinion, though it might depend on the subject area you are studying. Note, facts should be verifiable while opinion, although based on factual information, may be someone’s interpretation of the facts. It is not always possible to distinguish fact from opinion as a skilled writer can often make their interpretations seem like facts.
Besides, you need to consider the data, information or facts which are presented in order to decide if they are supported by evidence and have been researched. Check to see if there are assumptions made or some omissions in the information.
Find out if the language is quite objective or it is emotive. This might influence the way you respond to the materials or it might mean that it is biased in some way.
3. Sources
Get to know if the information in the book use primary or secondary sources as a basis for their research and findings. Explore what the sources are. It is normally better to choose both primary and secondary sources if you can.
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