Skip to Main Content

* Toolbox Information literacy skills: Search, Find and Evaluate Sources: Evaluating/Assessing sources

Searching,finding, evaluating and managing sources made easy

Evaluating your sources, how to go about this.

After you have found your sources, we want to highlight why it is important to assess the quality of your sources. The quality and relevance of a source are not measured by what type of source it is (see the previous page) but heavily rely on who wrote the information down, what was the purpose of publishing the information in the first place, and does it actually fit your need regarding your research.  The knowledge clips and texts you find here will give you several criteria and guidelines for assessing your sources on the basis of these criteria.

In your search for literature and other sources, you will find all sorts of information, but this information is not always accurate or of good quality. It is important to develop a critical eye that will enable you to evaluate the material properly.

Relevance: The extent to which the information contributes to answering the search question.

When assessing, pay attention to:

Content and level

Form

Timeliness

Reliability: the degree to which you can trust that the information is correct.
When assessing, pay attention to:

The source (author/organization) and the creation of the document

Content: the accuracy, objectivity, verifiability, and quality of the information source

In order to practice these skills you can find worksheets below.

When is information relevant?
Information is relevant when the information contributes to answering the research question or context. You assess the information found on content, level, and timeliness.


Questions about the relevance of information on content and level

You can ask the following questions about how the information meets your needs.

  • For whom is the information intended? (Who is the intended audience?)
  • Is the information objective (fact) or subjective (opinion)? And, are the opinions substantiated?
  • Is the information at the right level? (Not too easy or too difficult?)
  • Did you look at different sources before deciding to use these sources?
  • Would you be comfortable quoting these sources in the research?
  • The important thing is that the quality and level of information fit your (research) question and objective.


Helpful questions about the relevance of information on topicality
Questions you can ask about the timeliness of the information.

  • When was the information published or posted?
  • Has the information been revised or updated?
  • Does the data from the information source match the current situation?
  • Are the links still working?


NB! An older book or article may be current to your topic!

When is information reliable?

The reliability of information sources is about the degree to which you can trust that the information is accurate. You judge the information found on the authority of the source, the accuracy of the information, and the purpose of the information. 

Reliability questions: the source of information

  • Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
  • Is the author an authority on the subject? What demonstrates that authority (background, education and/or image?)?
  • What organization is the author associated with? Has the author been quoted by others?
  • What do you know about the organization? Does the organization have a good reputation? (A publication from a respected organization is more likely to be trusted than one with vague or unclear goals)
  • Who funds the author or organization? Do commercial interests come into play?
  • Are there contact details? (Editor's address or e-mail address)
  • Does the URL say anything about the author or source? (.com, .edu, .gov, .org, .net)

Additional questions reliability of information: the reason the information exists

  • What is the purpose of the information? Is the purpose informative or does the author want to persuade, entertain, sell, etc. the reader?
  • Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions clear?
  • Are facts, opinions, or propaganda being communicated?
  • Does the author's point of view appear objective and unbiased?
  • Does the source's point of view contain political, ideological, cultural, religious institutional, or personal biases or distortions?
  • Is the topic presented from multiple angles?

Additional questions information reliability: on the accuracy and verifiability of information

Accuracy:

  • Is the data in the information source correct? (Check whether the data is supported by information from other sources)
  • Is the information supported by evidence?

Verifiability

  • Is there a source citation?
  • What is the quality of the source citation?
  • Has the information been reviewed?
  • Can you verify the information based on other sources or your own knowledge about it?
  • Are there spelling errors, grammatical errors, or other typographical errors?

In this video, the CRAAP test is used to see whether a source can be useful or not. However, the first letter here is not a C for Currency, it is here replaced by the letter T for timeliness which both refers to the same thing when scrutinizing your sources.

ANU Library. (2020, May 20). Evaluating information sources [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_ZbckRPCpQ

This video gives a clear explanation of how to assess sources using the CRAAP test

McMaster Libraries. (2015, January 23). How library stuff works: How to evaluate resources (the CRAAP test) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M1-aMCJHFg

UMNLibraries. (2014, November 21). Tutorial: How to Read and Comprehend Scientific Articles [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2K6mJkSWoA

De Jager-Loftus, D. (2014, January 31). Annotated Bibliography Lesson Part 1 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rsNakv8PNY

Test yourself and practical tools

How to Write a Summary in English

Summary Checklist:

The first sentence tells the article title in quotation marks.

  

The first sentence uses a verb in simple present (discusses, explains, describes)

  

The first sentence includes the writer/author and the main idea/claim/topic.

  

The summary clearly shows the main points of the article with transitions like “first of all” and “next.”

  

The summary tells the main points in the same order that they appeared in the article

  

The summary uses the student’s own words and does not copy from the article.

  

The ideas of the article are clear in the summary. (1-2 sentences of supporting details can be added if the idea is not clear.)

  

The summary does not include unnecessary details.

  

The summary is objective; it does not include the student’s opinion.

  

Optional: the summary concludes with a sentence to summarize the main points.

  

The grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure are good.

  

 

Steps to Write a Summary:

 

  1. Read and understand the article. You need to read more than once. 

 

  1. Read critically: use 2 highlighters to identify main ideas and supporting details. Draw lines to separate the article into sections. If the article is hard or long, you can also do these two optional things: make margin notes and cross out ideas that are not important. 

 

  1. Make a list of the important ideas in your own words. This outline is a great way to make your summary easy and to avoid copying from the article. 

 

  1. Use your outline to write your summary. 

 

  1. Remember the characteristics of a good summary:

Clearly organized with transitions

Short but not too short

Ideas are clear. A little detail can be added, but not too much.

Do not add your opinion!

 

Example first sentence of a summary:

In the article “A Goal of Service to Humankind,” Doctor Anthony Fauci discusses the three principles that guide his life as a physician.