Evaluating Information
Evaluating information is just asking yourself some basic questions and using critical thinking.
1) Who? Who has written the information? With a book or journal article this is easy as the information will be on the title page. With a website you need to look for something that gives you this information. Often there is a link labeled "About us" or something similar.
2) What? What is the information based on? Is it just opinion, or is it academically reliable? For it to be academically reliable it needs to give full details of the source of the information. "An insider", "Close Friend", "Someone in the know" are not reliable sources. Look for full citation details. Sometimes opinion pieces are perfectly acceptable and I am not saying never use non-academic information to illustrate your point - I am just saying make sure you are aware of the quality of the information you are using.
3) Where? Where has this information come from? Who is responsible for it being made available? Is it from an official and reliable source? You need to know where the information is coming from so you can decide if it is academically reliable credible.
4) Why? Why is this information being posted? Is it to spread high quality information on a topic, or does it have another, possibly hidden agenda? Remember that bias is not the same as lies. Everything that is said can be true, but important information can be left out leading you to make false assumptions. Have a look at http://www.dhmo.org/ for an extreme example of this.
5) When? When was the information written and when was made available? You need to know how old the information is, and whether it is still current. If information is still true, and still useful than it is current - if it has been superseded by new information than it is not. Use your common sense on this. If you are taking a historical perspective obviously you can use older works, if you are looking for up to date theories or processes then you shouldn't.
6) How? How is this resource useful to you? Your time is very limited. Make sure you spend your research time on things that are actually going to help you achieve your research goal!
When finding information for your assignments, you need to make sure that it comes from a credible source. Check out the links below to find out more...
- How to Spot Fake News
Not all information is equal, and with such easy access to information via the Internet, it is becoming more and more complex to separate the good, from the bad or the downright ugly. Fake news is in the News these days!
- Credible Sources of Information
It is important to note that no source is without bias, however, a credible source will provide evidence to help you understand the way its argument is positioned.
Different types of information and sources of information meet different needs. If you are information savvy you will have the skills to source information that enables you to make quality, reliably informed decisions.
Tips for critically evaluating information sources - courtesy of www.FactCheck.org and IFLA.