Evaluating Information
Before you decide to use an information source (print or online!) for your project, you need to ask these questions:
Who?
Who wrote it? What are the author’s qualifications, if any?
Did the author include contact information?
What?
What information did you find? Why did the author create it?
Who is the target audience? Is the author being objective or biased?
Are the facts accurately and completely cited?
Is there any obvious conflict of interest? Advertisements?
When?
When was this source published? Is the information current?
Where?
Where did you find this information? Is it a reputable source?
If the source is a Web site, whose site is it? What organization sponsors the Web page?
If you are using the Internet (and you should if you have access to it!) remember that searching the Web can be like mining for gold. You have to go through tons of rock to find the gold nuggets! For a good resource on judging those nuggets, see Knowing What’s What and What’s Not.
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