Evaluating Information

Why Evaluate Your Sources?

When you use some of the techniques and sources from the prior lessons you are likely to find a wealth of information about your topic. Your challenge will be to go through this information and determine what might be appropriate. If you find information in books, magazines, newspapers, television, from friends, or off the Internet it will be your job to judge the quality of that information.

You might want to consider these points when evaluating your information:

• Authority - What are the credentials of the author of this book or Web site? Does the person I am reading or listening to have any business talking about this topic?

• Currency - Is the information I have up-to-date or current? Does it need to be?

• Purpose - What is the purpose of the source I am looking at? Is it trying to sell me something? Is it trying to persuade me? Is it trying to inform me? Is it biased or leaning a certain way?

• Documentation – Does the source I am using contain footnotes and other references? Am I being referred to other potential sources of information?

• Relevance - Does the information meet my own needs?

In the next sessions, we will look at example books, articles, and Web sites and apply these evaluation strategies.

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