Content

Writers should avoid excess original analysis or commentary. Guides should provide the best resources, with as little bias as possible. Writers should also steer clear of lengthy narratives, and instead let the sites included on the guide provide the majority of the information. (If a writer is unsure whether they are writing too much commentary in the guide, we ask that they ask themself, “If I were writing a paper or article, would I have to cite this?” If the answer is no, it shouldn't be in the guide.)

Timeliness

Writers should focus on providing information of current interest to the public, whether it’s on a current event or a topic that is regularly asked about.

Overall Guide Length

Research guides should be brief and highlight the best and most relevant information on a topic, rather than attempt to be fully comprehensive. Our suggested length is 900 words, with 500 as our ideal.

Publication Duration

Unless a guide is of continuing interest, writers should assign an end date to specify when the guide should be removed from the site. 

Websites

Selected websites should be appropriate and authoritative, in both content and functionality.

Images

Guides should contain images, but no more than two or three. Writers should use relevant, high-quality source images, and should stay away from animated images, unnecessary illustrations, or anything that looks too much like clip art.