Evaluation of Sources

Book
Wilson, Colin, and Donald Seaman. The Serial Killers: A Study in the Psychology of Violence.
London: Virgin, 2007. Print.
Currency: The information in this book was published in 2007. The information has not been
updated but is based on true events. This topic doesnt not require current information;
older sources could work as well as a current source. There are no links in this source.
Relevance: The information in this book does relate to this topic and could help with answering
my question. The intended audience seems to be anyone, but I think that mostly people
interested in this particular area would look for this book. The books information is at an
appropriate level to write the essay.
Authority: The authors are Colin Wilson, and Donald Seaman. These two men are criminal
investigators who know and have seen some of the things gone over in this book. There is
no URL this is a physical book.
Accuracy: The information comes from tales of previous serial killer in the London area. This is
all based on true events. The only reviewing this book has gone through is during the
editing process.
Purpose: The purpose for this information appears to be to entertain readers, but while also
getting real information in the world.
On a scale of 1-10 I could give this source an 8. Because this is something that would be really
helpful when trying to break down the psychological influences that made these certain
serial killers the way they turned out to be.
Websites from World Wide Web
Goldhill, Olivia. "Are Some Humans Born Evil?" The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 29
Oct. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
Currency: The information in this online article was published just last year. It doesnt appear to
be revised or edited. The links are still functional.
Relevance: This is relevant to my topic the title is the exact question that was asked in my
bibliographic essay. The intended audience is the entire world.
Authority: The author is Olivia Goldhill. On the internet everyone has an opinion. She is an
online reporter for the telegraph, which appears to be a newspaper.

Accuracy: Some of the information is supported by evidence and some of it seems to be merely
opinion
Purpose: The purpose of this information is the same as my bibliographic question, to know why
these things happen the way that they do.
On a scale of 1-10 I would give this a 5. It does have some really good points about the topic at
hand, but it is mostly just opinion.
Griffith, Michelle. "Bad to the Bone - Some Children Are Just Born Evil -- Sott.net." SOTT.net.
Sott, 19 Sept. 2011. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
Currency: the article was last published about 4 years ago. It does not appear to be revised or
updated in any way. Older information does work with my topic, it does not need to be
new but it would certainly help my case more.
Relevance: This is another article that relates directly to the topic that I have picked. It is all in
the title. The intended audience seems to be a type of person who is looking for this
information because it is not something that you just stumble across.
Authority: The author seems to just an opinionated person trying to get their point across. The
website looks like a blog more than an informative website.
Accuracy: The information in its entirety looks like it comes from a parent with strong opinions,
rather than a psychologist who actually did the research on this area.
Purpose: It seems that the purpose of this article is to help some parent with struggling kids or
kids that are acting out in a serious way. I looks as if it is to inform. The authors points
are made very clear.
On a scale of 1-10 I would give this source a 2. Because it does have information relevant to me
but it lack evidence other than that persons personal experience which isnt even pointed
out in the proper ways.
Two Articles from Academic Databases
Gabbard, Glen O. "Reproduced with Permission of the Copyright Owner. Further Reproduction
Prohibited without Permission. Images in Psychiatry: Sigmund Freud, 1856-1939."
ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source. ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source,
Feb. 2004. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
Currency: the article in this database was published to the database in 2004. The information was
not updated since its upload onto the database.

Relevance: Sigmund Freud is pretty much the godfather of the subconscious mind. The
subconscious mind is a large part of my essay because it is where we develop our basic
human wants.
Authority: Sigmund Freud is one of the first people to study psychology as a science. I think it is
crucial to get some sort of input from him despite his doubters.
Accuracy: the information comes from the proquest database for health. This is one of the
premier databases for health studies.
Purpose: this articles purpose is to give the reader information about Sigmund Freud. For me it is
to get his view on the subconscious mind and how it effects a person psychological
development.
On a scale of 1-10 this source would get a 10 from me. Because it has all of its evidence backed
up. It is on an academic database that is know for publishing these kinds of articles and
information.
Windom, Cathy Spatz. "Alcohol Abuse as Risk Factor for and Consequence of Child Abuse."
Alcohol Research and Health. ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source, 2001. Web. 12
Oct. 2015.
Currency: this article was last published in 2001. It does not appear to be updated, but my topic
does not need updated information to be successful.
Relevance: this could be relevant to my topic because alcoholism could effect a childs
psychological development and lead them to become the very thing that they fear. I think
it is a good think outside of the box citation.
Authority; The author of this article is a online writer for the alcohol research and health website.
Plus the information that she published is on the proquest nursing and health wellness
database.
Accuracy: The accuracy of the information in this article is unbeatable. It is on an academic
database that is used by nursing and medical professionals when they write papers
themselves.
Purpose: this articles purpose is to give the reader some information on alcoholism and how it
effects children.
On a scale of 1-10 I would give this article an 8 because everything is near perfect but I took
some points off because it is a bit of a stretch to say that it is a 100% fit for my essay.