Evaluating Sources of Information

1
Evaluating Sources of Information

2
Sources of Information

• Books
• Newspapers
• Periodicals

• Websites
• Webpages

3
Written Sources of Information

• Books
• Newspapers
• Periodicals

4
Criteria to Evaluate Sources

• Credibility of Author
• Date of Publication
• Edition
• Publisher
• Title

• Content Analysis
• Intended Audience
• Coverage
• Writing Style
• Overall Impression

5
Credibility of Author

• Education?
• MS, PhD, MD, RD, DO
• Discipline
• Credentials?
• Licenses, Certifications
• Background?
• Has your instructor, textbook, or other scholars
  in this area mentioned this author?

6
Date of Publication

• When was the source published?
• Is current information important for your topic?

7
Edition

• Is this a first edition?
• Further editions demonstrate that a source has
  been updated to reflect new information
• Further editions suggest it may be a standard
  sources in the field.

8
Publisher

• Who published the resource?
• Is it a popular publisher or a university press?
  This would reflect a more scholarly content
• Is it published or distributed by a for-profit
  company?

9
Title of Periodical

• Periodicals are publications which are issued at
  regular intervals
• Such as newspapers, periodicals, magazines
  journals
• Popular VS Scholarly

10
Popular Periodicals

• Cover news, current events or interests
• Targeted at general public
• Written by editorial staff or free lance writers
• Lay person language
• Illustrations for a pleasing appearance
• No peer review process
• Sources are sometimes cited, but usually no full
  citations or bibliography

11
Examples of Popular Periodicals
12
Scholarly Periodicals

• Also called Scholarly Journals
• Report original research or experiments
• Targeted at researchers, faculty students
• Written by experts in the field
• Use specialized language of the discipline
• Illustrations are few. (charts graphs only)
• Peer reviewed
• Include citations in a standardized format

13
Examples of Scholarly Periodicals
14
Advantages of Periodicals

• published frequently
• best sources for current information
• current information presented long before a book
  can be published
• contain info on the latest research theories
• exist for every field
• shorter in length than a book

15
Content Analysis

• Examine the source
• Read the Preface
• Scan the Table of Contents and the Index
• Note whether bibliographies are included

16
Who is the Intended Audience?

• Should be targeted at specialized audience such
  as researchers, faculty students
• Should use specialized language or jargon
• You may need a dictionary or health encyclopedia
  to look up words and/or concepts

17
Objective Reasoning

• Is the information fact or opinion?
• Does the author attempt to remain objective?
• Does the information appear valid?
• Is there use of good research design?
• Is the information supported by evidence?
• Do the conclusions make sense?

18
Coverage

• Primary VS Secondary
• Primary sources the original source that first
  reports the research or ideas
• Secondary sources analyze, describe, and
  synthesize the primary or original source. These
  include review articles, reference books such as
  encyclopedias, and textbooks.

19
Writing Style

• Is the source logically organized?
• Are the ideas clearly presented?
• Does it flow? Or is it choppy?
• Does the author make a clear and concise
  argument?

20
Overall Impression
Follow your instincts!
21
Task - Independent Review

• Summarize your article in one paragraph
• Credibility of the Author
• Date of Publication
• Edition
• Publisher
• Title Type of Journal

• Content Analysis
• Intended Audience
• Objective Reasoning
• Coverage
• Writing Style
• Overall Impression

22
Task Group Review

• Break into groups of 4
• Each member will share article summary
• Each member will share overall impression of
  source. Be sure to explain how you developed your
  overall impression by using the criteria
  discussed
• Decide on best/most credible article in group
• Decide on worst/least credible article in group
• Share best and worst with class. Be sure to
  explain how you developed your overall impression

23
Internet Sources of Information

• Websites
• Webpages

24
Evaluating Internet Sources

• The internet can provide you with a wealth of
  information (and misinformation)
• If you know what to look for (and look out for)
  you can find great information!

(Adapted from UC Berkeley - Teaching Library
Internet Workshops)
25
What can the URL tell you?

• What type of domain does it come from?
• Government sites .gov, .mil, .us, or other
  country code
• Educational sites .edu or another country code
• Nonprofit organizations .org or some other
  country code
• Commercial .com

26
Who published the site?

• What "server" issued the document?
• The server is usually named in the first portion
  of the URL (http// _______ /)
• http//www.laspositascollege.edu/
• Is the server a commercial ISP?
• aol.com
• geocities.com
• Is it somebody's personal page? Look for a
  personal name following a tilde () or "users" or
  "people
• http//home.earthlink.net/jesmith/

27
Who wrote the page or article?

• Look for a name and e-mail
• Top or bottom of article
• Sometimes in a section called "About us" or
  "Contact us"
• It is usually not the same person as the
  "webmaster
• Are the author's credentials provided? Does this
  person seem to be a reliable authority on the
  subject?

28
Is it dated, current, and timely?

• When was the page last updated?
• Look at several pages from the site
• Date should be at top or bottom of page
• In Netscape you can right click and View Info

29
Is information authentic?

• If the page claims to be from an established
  source, is it?
• Is it a Primary or Secondary source?
• Find original source!
• Is information well documented?
• CAUTION Standards for footnoting and citing are
  often very lax on the Web

30
Is the page reliable?

• Whats the purpose?
• Why was it created?
• Inform? Explain? Facts? Persuade? Promote? Sell?
  Share? Rant? Entice?
• Who else links to the page?
• In Google or AltaVista precede the URL by the
  term link In search box enter
  linkwww.whitehouse.net
• In Google Advance Search put the URL in the box
  labeled "Find pages that link to the page."
• Look for the page in a reliably annotated subject
  directory, such as Librarians' Index, Infomine,
  About.com

31
Whats the bias?

• Who sponsors the page?
• Look for links to Sponsors" "About Us"
  "Philosophy"
• Advertisers can also be sponsors
• Are there links to other viewpoints?
• Look for your own bias
• Are you being fair? Too harsh? Totally objective?
  
• Are you requiring the same degree of "proof" you
  would from a print publication?

32
Is it a satire or spoof?

• Think about the tone
• There are many satiric pages on the Web
• Take a look at these sites
• US Whitehouse
• Whitehouse

33
If you have questions, ask!

• E-mail the author or publisher and ask for more
  background
• Consult a print publication, perhaps in the
  Library
• Ask for advice at a library reference desk or
  talk to your instructor