Most databases, such as ProQuest and LexisNexis, list at least the following information, which can help you decide if a source is relevant, current, scholarly, and a suitable length for your purposes.
Title and brief description (How relevant?)
Date (How current?)
Name of periodical (How scholarly?)
Length (How extensive in coverage?)
Sample evaluation of database search results
Ned Bishop consulted a general database for articles on the Fort Pillow massacre, using the search term Fort Pillow.
Search results for Fort Pillow
By scanning the titles, Bishop saw that only one contained the words Fort Pillow. This title and the name of the periodical, Journal of American History, suggested that the source was scholarly. The 1989 publication date was not a problem, since currency is not necessarily a key issue for historical topics. The article’s length (eight pages) is given in parentheses at the end of the citation. While the article may seem short, the topic—a statistical note—is narrow enough to ensure adequate depth of coverage. Bishop decided the article was worth consulting. He clicked on the check box to save this reference.
Bishop chose not to consult the other sources. The first is a brief article in a popular magazine, the second is a movie review, and the third surveys a topic that is far too broad, “black soldiers in the Civil War.”
Determining if a source is scholarly
Comparison of a scholarly vs. a popular source