Unit 6- Evaluation of Information Sources

8/13/2019 Unit 6- Evaluation of Information Sources

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EVALUATION OF INFORMATION SOURCES


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One should be able to answer the followingquestions:

Why should information and informationsources be evaluated?

Which criteria should be used to evaluateinformation and information sources?


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Evaluation is meant to assess whetherinformation accessed meets the needs of thereader.

There is so much information available, in

different formats and from so many differentsources.

Therefore, each piece of information that is

selected must be carefully reviewed to ensurethe quality, authority, perspective andbalance that best support the research.


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UTHORITY Who is the author/

publisher/source/sponsor?

What are the authors credentials/organisational affiliations?

Is the author qualified to write on the topic?

Is there contact information, such as

publisher or email address?


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OBJECTIVITY The clarity and factualness of the content or

subject. What is the purpose of the information? Is it

to inform, teach, sell, entertain orpersuade?

Do the authors/sponsors make theirintentions or purpose clear?

Is the information fact, opinion orpropaganda?


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Does the point of view appear objective andimpartial?

Are there political, ideological, cultural,religious, institutional or personal biases?

Check a table of contents (or the index) tosee if it covers the information you need.Scan the introduction, for more clues to asource's content and purpose

Does the site include advertisements orproduct promotion?


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COVER GE The scope and relevance of the information

to your needs.

Does the information relate to your topic oranswer your question?

Who is the intended audience?

Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e.

not too elementary or advanced for yourneeds)?


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CCUR CY The reliability, truthfulness and correctness

of the content.

Where does the information come from? Is the information supported by evidence?

Has the information been reviewed orrefereed?

Can you verify any of the information inanother source or from personal knowledge?


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Does the language or tone seem unbiased andfree of emotion?

Are there spelling, grammar/ typographicalerrors?

What is the overall purpose of the particularweb page and the particular web site? If it isnot a scholarly site, is it still an appropriatesource for your research?

cf the information in the web site toinformation on the same topic from othersources. Do you see differences, or agreement?


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CURRENCY The timeliness of the information.

When was the information published or posted?

Has the information been revised or updated?Is it a date appropriate for the subject matter?

Does your topic require current information, orwill older sources work as well?

Are the links functional?


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To evaluate a periodical, you must determineif it is suitable for the type of information youneed.

A scholarly or academic journal has thefollowing characteristics:

Is often published by a learned society orprofessional organization.

It usually publishes original research. It is usually published quarterly or monthly

rather than weekly.


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It is usually a "refereed" journal", whichmeans an independent expert assists theeditor in evaluating the

Articles submitted for publication-- aprocess called "peer reviews".

Scholarly articles have footnotes andreferences of works cited-- this is the

single most important visual clue.


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This unit looked at five key aspects that aninformation user has to consider whenevaluating information.

Authority

Objectivity

Accuracy

Currency

Coverage/Scope

Documents

Unit 6- Evaluation of Information Sources