Evaluating Information
The need to evaluate information is inseparable from the research process. As you go through any research project, you must evaluate the information you plan to use at every step. How?
Choose your hammers wisely!
One approach is to evaluate each information source using specific criteria. Here are some criteria you might use for evaluating information sources:
- Relevance:
Is the information in the source relevant to what you are doing?
- Quality:
Is the information in the source clear, interesting, coherent, meaningful, etc.?
- Currency:
Is the information up-to-date?
- Authority:
Was the information produced by a source (an author or publisher) that has an appropriate claim to expertise?
- Accuracy:
Can the information in the source be confirmed in another source?
- Completeness:
Does the information source cover all the relevant angles? Are there significant omissions?
- Bias:
Is there an implicit or explicit bias in the information source? Does this bias interfere with the quality of the source?
- Depth:
Has the author relied on superficial statements without the support of analysis or evidence?
- Documentation:
Has the author of your source indicated the sources of his or her information?
