Evaluating the information

Main Contents Page

Before you start

STEP 1: STARTING out

STEP 2: FINDING

STEP 3: EVALUATE

- Fact vs opinion

- Currency

- Authority

- Intended audience

- Publishing body

- Popular vs academic

- Primary vs secondary sources

- Critical reading

- Eliminate irrelevant information

- Internet

- CARS checklist

- Quiz

STEP 4: Legal and ethical USE

STEP 5: COMMUNICATE

Publishing body

Who is the publishing body of the source (books, journals, web pages, etc.)?

  • What other publications have been published by this body?
  • What is the reputation of the publisher, producer or distributor? Is it a university, an alternative press or a private/political organisation?