Evaluating Information
(questioning information)

Currency

• Is there a date on the page?
• Is the data current with recent events?  

Source

• Where was this information published?  Journal, magazine, web page?
• Is this a peer reviewed source?
• Is this source published for educational, journalistic, or sensationalistic purposes?

Authorship

• Why is the author writing this information?
• Who is behind the information?
• Is there a biographical description of the author?  
• Does the author have a list of credentials?
• Does the author have any biases?
• Is there contact information, email, telephone number?  

Statistics, Tests, Measurements, and Studies

• Can you see the actual survey used to conduct the study?
• Was the survey random or directed at a certain population?
• Is the test or measurement one that is a standard in the subject field?
• How large or small is the sampling for the study?
• Can the test actually measure what the author is trying to show? 

Scope

• What is the coverage of this information?
• Is the content controversial?
• Can you determine the original content of used resources?
• Does this article or web site have links  or reference to similar information?
• What is the uniqueness of this article or web site?
  

Agreement and Conclusions

• Are other researchers in agreement or with the findings or methods used by this author?
• Is there a certain amount of truth mixed in with what may be questionable?
• If tests, studies, or surveys have been conducted do the conclusions make sense?
  

Accuracy

• Can you verify this information elsewhere?
• Is there a sponsorship or publisher for this article or web site?
• Are there any reviews  for this book, article, or web site?  
  

Research References

• Who is the author citing?
• Are they other experts in the subject matter?
• Is it clear to the reader which original work belongs to the author?

Intended Audience

• Who was this written for?
• Does the writing style and the layout of the page serve this audience?  
• Was this information free of for a fee?
• Is there unnecessary advertising?
  

Structure

• Is it easy to locate information within this book, article, or web site?
• Are there dead or misdirected links if this is a web page?
• Can this information be easily printed or downloaded?
• Are there any help files or FAQ?
• How clean is the data, i.e. misspellings.
• What is your overall impression?