Evaluating Information Sources

1. Evaluating Information Sources Prof. Dr. Khalid Mahmood Department of Library & Information Science University of the Punjab

2. Evaluating information sources for relevance – Book • Skim its index for your key words, then skim the pages on which those words occur. • Skim the first and last paragraphs in chapters that use a lot of your key words. • Skim introduction, summary chapters, and so on. • Skim the last chapter, especially the first and last two or three pages. • If the source is a collection of articles, skim the editor’s introduction. • Check the bibliography for titles relevant to your topic.

3. Evaluating information sources for relevance – Article • Read the abstract. • Skim the introduction and conclusion, or if they are not marked by headings, skim the first six or seven paragraphs and the last four or five. • Skim for section headings, and read the first and last paragraphs of those sections. • Check the bibliography for titles relevant to your topic.

4. Evaluating information sources for relevance – Online • If it looks like a printed article, follow the steps for a journal article. • Skim sections labeled “introduction,” “overview,” “summary,” or the like. If there are none, look for a link labeled “About the Site” or something similar. • If the site has a link labeled “Site Map” or “Index,” check it for your key words and skim the referenced pages. • If the site has a “search” resource, type in your key words.

5. Use colour post-its to mark relevance • Red - high relevance • Blue – medium relevance • Yellow – low relevance

6. Evaluating information sources for reliability • Audience • Authority • Bias • Currency • Scope

7. Audience • What age group/education level/political affiliation/etc. is the audience? • Is this for a person with in-depth knowledge or a layperson?

8. Authority • Does the author’s name appear on the Web page? • What are his/her credentials? • Does the author provide contact information?

9. Bias • Is the source objective? • Could the writer or the organization’s affiliation put a different spin on the information presented? • What is the purpose of the source?

10. Currency • When was the work published? • When was the work last updated? • How old are the sources or items in the bibliography? • How current is the topic? • If a Web page, do the links work?

11. Scope • What does/doesn’t the work cover? • Is it an in-depth study (many pages) or superficial (one page)? • Are sources and statistics cited? • If a site, does it offer unique info not found in any other source?