The purpose of evaluating information is to determine the reliability of a piece of information. Thinking critically about the claims we encounter in research and in our everyday lives can help us to be more astute readers and more independent thinkers. Here are some questions to guide your evaluation of your selected sources:
It is important to evaluate your sources of information to find out if they are up-to-date, reliable, and unbiased.
Using quality sources can strengthen your project, and not everything in library databases or on the Web is appropriate for a project.
Now that you have found some articles, books, and Web documents related to your topic, you will need to take a deeper look and decide if your sources are the best of the best. You can print or save the Source Evaluation Worksheet located next to the blue document icon below to use as a guide.
Take a look at the sources listed below. None of them are reliable. Why not? Aside from unlikely assertions, what clues might prompt the reader to be skeptical of the author's claims?