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â„¢ A mnemonic acronym for information evaluation Created by Karen M. Christensson, M.S. Library Media Education. Evaluate information before you use it as a source! Make sure information is relevant, appropriate detailed, current, from someone that is an authority and unbiased.
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™ A mnemonic acronym for information evaluationCreated by Karen M. Christensson, M.S. Library Media Education Evaluate information before you use it as a source! Make sure information is relevant, appropriate detailed, current, from someone that is an authority and unbiased.
Am I wasting my time looking at this? • Does this have anything to do with what I’m doing? • Am I on the right track to find what I’m looking for? • Am I using the right search terms?
Should I be looking at this? • Does this have anything to do with what I’m doing?
How much information do I need? • Is this information really helpful, or is it “fluff”? • LOOK AT THE DETAILS! • Are there links to help me find out more information? • Did the author cite sources?
How old is this information? • Is there newer, better information out there on my topic? • Do I want the newest “best” information available ? • When was the page written or last updated?
Who wrote this information? What are their qualifications? • Are they an expert? Says who? Google them to make sure! • Is there an email address so you can ask questions? • Is the information accurate and believable? • You don’t want to look like a fool for using bad information!
Why was this information written? Is this written to try and sell me something? Convince me of something? Inform me of something? • Is the author in favor or against my topic? • LOOK FOR CLUES! • Website name/website suffix • Advertising (if any) Bias isn’t always bad…when you know it’s bias!
What can the URL tell you?Uniform Resource Locator .Com – commercial organization/business .Edu – College or University (SC.edu) .Org – non-profit organization (schools) .Gov – US Government or organization .Net – Network provider (Earthlink.net) .Mil – US Military (Army,Navy,Marines,etc) .Biz – commercial .Eu – websites in European Union And many others!
Bibliography • Beck, Susan A. "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, or, why it's a good idea to evaluate web resources." New Mexico State University Library Instruction Program. 09 Aug. 2007. New Mexico State University. 18 Jan 2008 <http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/eval.html>. • Christensson, Karen. "RADCAB- Your Vehicle for Information Evaluation." 22 Oct. 2007. RADCAB.com. 17 Jan. 2008 <http://www.radcab.com>. • O'Neill, Ann B.. "Trash or Treasure? How to Evaluate Internet Resources." Information Literacy Skills used in BCPS Research Modules. 16 Oct. 2002. Baltimore County Public Library. 18 Jan. 2007 <http://www.bcpl.net/~sullivan/modules/tips/eval.html>.