Evaluate your sources
Tips: How to Critically Analyze Information Sources.
A guide to the critical questions you should ask when you consider the appropriateness of a particular book, article, media resource, or Web site for your research.
Evaluating Web Resources (Source Evaluation Checklist)
Lists ways to analyze the Web sites you find.
How to Identify Scholarly Journal Articles
Evaluating the sources you find is a crucial step in the process of scholarly research. The questions you ask about books, periodical articles, or multimedia sources are similar whether you're looking at a citation to the item or have the item in hand.
Read: Distinguishing Scholarly from Non-Scholarly Periodicals: A Checklist of Criteria.
Shows how to evaluate periodicals by looking at their format, intended audience, and appearance.
Cited reference searching
How to assess non-scholarly sources
Is there useful and valid information in non-scholarly sources, such as blogs, newspapers, and magazines? Of course!
This guide will help guide you interrogate sources for accuracy, authority, and point of view:
Evaluating News Sources -- * just keeps getting more critically important *
Infographic: Tips for Spotting Fake News
How to Spot Fake News
- Consider the Source - Click away from the story to investigate the site, its mission and its contact info.
- Read Beyond - Headlines can be outrageous in an effort to get clicks. What's the whole story?
- Check the Author - Do a quick search on the author. Are they credible? Are they real?
- Supporting Sources? - Click on those links. Determine if the info given actually supports the story.
- Check the Date - Reposting old news stories doesn't mean they're relevant to current events.
- Is it a Joke? - If it is too outlandish, it might be satire. Research the site and author to be sure.
- Check your Biases - Consider if your own beliefs could affect your judgment.
- Ask the Experts - Ask a librarian or consult a fact-checking site.