comprehensiveness
Comprehensiveness refers to the extent to which a given topic is explored.
When you consider comprehensiveness, you need to look at how detailed the information is that you are given, and whether or not it provides an indiscriminate overview of your topic as whole. Is any background information offered to provide a context for the research that is being conducted, or the arguments that are being made? Are you offered several viewpoints of the issue at hand? Are all arguments and claims sufficiently supported by valid evidence? Asking these kinds of questions will allow you to determine whether the resource you have chosen gives a comprehensive look at the issue that you are exploring.
As your search for different topics in psychology, you'll come across lectures slides and notes. These are easily identified by names such as "Operant.ppt", or "Lecture3.doc." These resources may provide an introduction to or outline of some topic, but they are not comprehensive resources because they lack in any sort of depth. If you were to use the information included in these resources, you would need to substantiate with information from other, more comprehensive sources.
