A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations, 7th edition - Kate L. Turabian 2007

Evaluate sources for relevance and reliability - Evaluate the relevance of sources
Finding useful sources
Part I. Research and writing: from planning to production

You will probably find more sources than you can use, so you must evaluate their usefulness by skimming quickly for two criteria: relevance and reliability.

3.4.1 Evaluate the relevance of sources

Once you decide a book might be relevant, skim it systematically:

If its index lists keywords related to your question or its answers, skim the pages on which those words occur.

Skim its introduction, especially its last page, where writers often outline their text.

Skim its last chapter, especially the first and last six or seven pages.

If you have time, do the same for chapters that look relevant, especially those for which the index lists many of your keywords.

If the source is a collection of articles, skim the editor's introduction.

(Be sure that you're looking at a book's most recent edition. Over time, researchers change their views, refining them, even rejecting earlier ones.) If you're doing advanced work, read book reviews of promising sources (see section 4 of the bibliography of resources in your field).

If your source is a journal article, do this:

Read its abstract, if any.

Skim the last two or three paragraphs of the introduction (or other opening section) and all of any section called “Conclusion.”

If the article has no separate introduction or conclusion, skim its first and last few paragraphs.

Skim the first paragraph or two after each subhead, if any.

If your source is online, do this:

If it looks like a printed article, follow the steps for a journal article.

Skim any section labeled “Introduction,” “Overview,” “Summary,” or the like. If there is none, look for a link labeled “About the Site” or something similar.

If the site has a link labeled “Site Map” or “Index,” follow it and check the list, looking for keywords related to your question or its answers. Click to skim those pages.

If the site has a “search” resource, type in keywords from your topic.