SCC Research Guides: Information Literacy for Faculty: Evaluating Information

Evaluating Information

Effective users of information need to develop skills to evaluate materials. In the academic setting evaluating information could include:

selecting an appropriate source for an assignment (book, article, newspaper, etc.)
identifying a credible website
determining the authority of an author or publisher
locating materials that are relevant to the information need
recognizing the timeliness or currency of the material
verifying the accuracy of information
and more...

Class Activities/Assignments:

Evaluating Websites: Provide students with a checklist to evaluate the credibility, relevance, authority and currency of websites.

Fake News: Utilizing various news reports on a topic, students evaluate the authenticity of information.

Identifying Credibility of Sources: Students will be able to explain the characteristics and value of various sources.

Recognizing Bias: Students critically analyze different points of view on a topic to determine the purpose and accuracy of information.

Understanding the Information Cycle: Students will identify the process by which information is published and understand the purposes of each type.

Handouts & Worksheets for the Classroom

Below are selected worksheets and handouts to help students successfully complete these tasks. The documents may be downloaded and edited for your specific instructional needs.

CARS Credibility Checklist
The CARS checklist is for evaluating Internet sources, but can easily be modified for other sources.
CRAAP Test
A handout to assess the Currency, Reliability, Authority, Accuracy and Purpose of a source.
CRAAP Test Worksheet
The worksheet is designed to help students practice evaluating sources based on the CRAPP model.
Evaluating Sources Rhetorically
How you evaluate a source depends on the purpose of your research. This document uses the BEAM model.
Five W's of Evaluation
This extensive document helps students thoroughly evaluate a source. Several variations of the document are included.
IMVAIN Newspaper Source Reliability
A checklist to help students identify news credibility, but can easily be modified for other types of sources.
Purdue Evaluation Resource
From the Purdue OWL website.
Types of Information Worksheet
A worksheet to help students determine types of sources.
Website Evaluation Checklist
A worksheet to help students critically evaluate a website.

Library Resources

Research Guides

Evaluating Source - Library Research Guide
This research guide from the SCC Library will explain how to evaluate sources for credibility. This guide includes information about evaluation criteria, domain endings, lateral reading, and the difference between scholarly and popular sources.
Finding Statistics - Library Research Guide
This research guide by the SCC Library will give guidance on where to find reliable sources of statistics.

Tutorials

Introduction to Website Evaluation - SCC Library Tutorial
This tutorial from the SCC Library website will explain to students how to properly evaluate a website source.
Different Sources and How to Use Them - SCC Library Tutorial
This tutorial from the SCC Library will cover different types of sources, such as books, periodicals, and websites, and how to use them in research.
Journals, Magazines, and Trade Publications - SCC Library Tutorial
This tutorial from the SCC Library will cover journals, magazines, and trade publications, what they are and how to find them.
What is a Periodical - SCC Library Tutorial
This tutorial from the SCC Library will explain what a periodical is and when to use them in research.
Library Databases - SCC Library Tutorial
This tutorial will walk you through how to effectively search in some of the library's most common databases.