Library & Research Overview

Evaluating Sources by asking questions

As we have seen, evaluating sources is more than categorize them as true or false. It is about critical thinking, which means, we have to be curious and ask questions to be able to make an informed judgement, building our own opinion on true facts. It begins by developing a habit of asking questions about what we read, see and hear. 

Who? What? When? Why? Where? How?

Start by questions, such as:

1. Who is telling the story?
2. Why did they publish it? 
3. When did it happen? When was it published?
4. What is their intention/purpose? (To sell something? To share their opinion? To convince you?)
5. Where did they find that information? Is there any evidence? 
6. How did that information make you feel?
7. Can you find other sources telling the same facts? 

Remember: Always look for multiple sources on your topic. 

Methods to help you evaluate your sources

There are quite a few well-known methods to help students to evaluate their sources. They are basically a set of questions/checklist that you can use to evaluate a source BEFORE you decide to include it in your paper/assignment. Below are a few examples of them:

However, evaluating websites and news following only these checklists might not be enough to check their credibility and veracity. Most times we will need to leave the page of the source we are reading/watching/listening and look for more information on that topic in other sources. This is called Lateral Reading. Watch the video bellow for more information. 

Lateral Reading - University of Louisville Libraries (UofL)

Still not sure whether your news source is reliable? 

Check this out: 

• Five steps for vetting a news source by News Literacy Project
• The infographic: Is it Legit?