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This tutorial will give you the information you need to determine if a source you have
chosen is reliable or credible and appropriate for your assignment or research needs.
Before you begin finding sources for your assignment, know what kind of information, and the
kind of sources you need to complete the assignment. This information will help you
determine if the sources you have chosen are appropriate for your assignment and/or
research project.
There is a great deal of information out there. Some of it is excellent, Some of it is
not. You will find much information, and will have to evaluate it yourself to
determine if it is credible and reliable. A credible source means that the information or
content of a particular source (book, journal/trade article or website) is reliable, believable
and trustworthy.
Using these 5 criteria, you will be able to identify whether the source you have chosen is
credible and trustworthy.
Grab your assignment and a source you need to consider, and we will walk through the
criteria together and answer the questions Who, What, When, Where & Why.
How do we know who wrote it? Is the author identified? Can you locate background information
about the author? Why is the author qualified to talk about this topic?
Does this information address your research question? Is it written at a level useful to
you, as suggested by your instructor? Is it for a general or a professional audience?
Will you get enough information from this source? Or is it too in depth? Is the information
presented in a useful way? What do you think about this information as it relates to
your research?
Books, journals, websites, and even blogs, all have publishers. What agency or
organization sponsored or funded it? What information do you have that makes you trust –
or not trust – the publisher or sponsor? What do you think about the publisher of YOUR
source, as it relates to this assignment?
Do you need current information? Have there been recent developments in this topic? Is
this information too old to be useful? For example, treatments for Leukemia need to be more
current than criticism of a Shakespearean play. Is the date of YOUR source right for
YOUR research?
Why was it written? Was it written to educate, to persuade or sell, or to inform. Is it
opinionated or emotional? Or is it balanced and scholarly? For whom was it written? For
students—if so what age? For professionals in their field, or the general public? You need
to be skeptical as you evaluate a source for your college level research. What do you think
about why your source was written, in relationship to your topic?
Now that we have gone over the steps on how to determine if your source is credible, test
your knowledge and take the quiz by clicking the link.
In this tutorial, we have discussed the criteria for evaluating your source. You
should now be able to tell whether the information you have will work for your
assignment. To review this information, click on “review” to print out this list of
criteria. Your instructor may want you to write an evaluation of your source considering the
questions, who, what, where, when & why.
your knowledge and take the quiz by clicking the link.
In this tutorial, we have discussed the criteria for evaluating your source. You
should now be able to tell whether the information you have will work for your
assignment. To review this information, click on “review” to print out this list of
criteria. Your instructor may want you to write an evaluation of your source considering the
questions, who, what, where, when & why.