Evaluating Information Sources

Questions to Ask Yourself Who is responsible for the information? Are the facts accurate and well documented? Is the information current? Is the date important to the information? What is the quality of the information? Does the information fulfill it’s purpose?

Who wrote it? What are the author’s credentials? Who do they work for? What is their educational background? What is their experience with the topic?

Who is the publisher? Is it an organization? Does the organization have a bias? Is it a magazine with a particular editorial viewpoint? Is it a documentary film with a particular axe to grind?

Who is the publisher? Is it a university press? Their works tend to be more scholarly with less of a profit margin in mind. Is it a web site with one well-meaning individual as it’s author and publisher?

What is there? Are the facts accurate? What did they omit? If it is an opinion, is it well supported with facts? Is there a bibliography? Is the language emotional, biased?

What is there? What is the date? Is the date important? Is it a primary source or secondary source What type of audience is the author addressing?