 Remember, it is important that you should not believe everything you read.  Moreover, you should be able to reject or accept information based on the characteristics of the information and the source from which the information was obtained.  Perhaps one of the most important ways of evaluating information is simply common sense.  If things appear unbelievable, then generally they should be treated with a pinch of salt.  However, there are other, more concrete, criteria that can be used in evaluating printed or electronic material.

The following is a list of relevant criteria:  One criterion is whether the publication is a refereed one.  Articles in most scholarly journals go through a rigorous process of peer evaluation, in which the editor of the journal sends a manuscript to at least two, but typically three, other experts in the field.  Only when all referees agree that the manuscript is worthy of publication will it be published.  Similar processes are applied to books published by reputable publishers.  Clearly, this means that articles in refereed publications are more likely to be acceptable.

 A related criterion is the level of scholarship of the publication.  This criterion is especially important in evaluating printed materials.  One can distinguish between scholarly publications and those intended for a general audience.  Clearly, the latter are often easier to understand but may lack a more in-depth analysis.  An important question to ask when evaluating information according to this criterion is who is the work's intended audience.

 Another criterion relevant to the acceptance or rejection of information is the degree of specificity or relevance to the research being undertaken.  For example, newspaper articles are generally intended for a general audience and may therefore not be specific enough for one's purposes.  Whether a book or a journal article is relevant can often be determined by carefully examining the title of the publication.  For a book, one can often get more information by reading the preface and the table of contents.  Journal articles often have abstracts, which can be used to determine the relevance of the article to the research project being undertaken.

 A further relevant criterion is the authority of the author of the publication.  Many publications include biographical notes on the author.  Another relevant piece of information is the affiliation of the author.  Authors associated with reputable organizations (e.g. reputable universities) are usually more authoritative on the subject.  Relevant questions to consider here are: Is the author an expert, scholar, or practitioner in the field? Has the author written other relevant publications? Is the author cited by others writing on the subject? What institution is the author affiliated to?

 Another important criterion that can be used in judging whether to reject or accept a written publication is the extent to which the author shows familiarity with the literature.  Clearly, an authoritative publication in the field will contain references to such publications.  More generally, it is important to determine whether the publication contains a bibliography.  Also, does the author display knowledge of the various theories and techniques in the field?  If the author's treatment is controversial, is the author aware of it and does he or she acknowledge it?

 The accuracy of the publication is clearly of great importance too.  One way of determining the accuracy of a publication is to compare it with other publications.  For example, are the data presented in the publication comparable to those in other publications?

 Timeliness of information was previously mentioned but clearly this is extremely relevant in the evaluation of information.  For example, a book published in 1980 in the area of Computer Science, or one published in 1925 in Medicine are likely to contain outdated information.  On the other hand, publications that appeared early in the century may be extremely relevant for a piece of historical research.

 A final criterion that is worth mentioning is the objectivity of the information.  It is important to note that the fact that a publication contains subjective information does not necessarily mean that it needs to be rejected.  Whether to reject it depends on the research topic.  For example, a research project that sets out to discuss and compare different views on some current issues, say the current telecommunications regulatory framework, must rely on subjective publications.  However, a research project that sets out to answer an empirical scientific question should rely primarily on objective information.

 Here's a summary of the criteria that should be used to analyze information for validity. CriteriaQuestions to consider Bias Does the source of the information favours a particular point? Is the source objective or subjective? AccuracyIs the information correct as presented? Is it truthful? Is it without typographical and grammatical errors? Cultural contextIs the information generalized or is it specific to a region, country, ethnic group etc.? Completeness Is the information complete (i.e. it does not lack vital pieces of information)? Is it understandable? Currency of informationHow current is the information?

 Many of the considerations discussed earlier must be applied to information obtained from the Internet as well.  However, because of the ease with which one can publish information on the Internet, the Internet poses a number of additional challenges.  Here's a list of some of the additional considerations that one may wish to take into account when evaluating information from the Internet.

 Earlier we discussed an important criterion, whether the publication had been refereed.  Information on the Internet is not refereed in the same way as other publications.  Nevertheless, one can gather some information about the publishing body.  First, it is important that you be able to interpret how to decode a URL.  The URL will tell whether the Web page was part of the pages hosted by an academic organization, a commercial organization, or hosted by a private individual.

 Some organizations only allow their members to publish Web pages after some form of refereeing by the organization itself.  If an organization has such a policy, any Web page will contain a reference to it.  Also, many organizations appoint so-called Webmasters.  If one can contact a Webmaster directly from a page, then the page has probably obtained some sort of approval from the organization.

 Currency was another criterion discussed earlier.  Again, it is usually important to determine the last date on which the page was updated.  Good Web pages tend to contain the name of the author, together with the copyright sign as well as an indication of the date on which the page was last updated.

 A final criterion that is useful in determining whether to accept or reject a piece of information from the Internet is the links to and from the page.  If the page contains links to other pages that one already has decided to accept as reliable, then the author of the page shows a good understanding of the literature.  In a sense, this is the equivalent of a list of references of an article in the printed media.  However, possibly even more important are links to the page from other pages that have already been judged to be reliable.  After all, an authoritative author is unlikely to undermine his or her authority by including links to unreliable pages.