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Learn at the Libraries

Learn more about university level writing, how to search the library, and the correct way to use references.

Evaluating
Information

Why Evaluate Information?

As a student, it's your responsibility to evaluate the usefulness and credibility of the sources you use in your assignments. It’s important to recognize that any source of information can be inaccurate, irrelevant, out-of-date, incomplete, or misleading regardless of where you find it. Most peer-reviewed sources will meet the criteria of scholarly publishing, but this doesn't mean that every article is a good fit for your research, or that there aren’t additional sources that might offer a different perspective about a particular topic.

Identifying Biases 

In addition, all sources of information can contain biases that influence the focus, methods, and outcomes of research. It’s very difficult, if not impossible, for any researcher to complete a study without some bias so it is important to be aware of this limitation in academic writing and consider how it might affect the information provided. 

Evaluating Information with RADAR 

Below is a simple acronym, RADAR*, that you can use to help you evaluate whether a source is appropriate for your assignment: 

 

Relevance 

  • Does the information relate to your topic or answer your research question? 
  • Is the source appropriate based on what you’ve been asked to find in your assignment guidelines? 
  • Note: You might also want to compare this source to a couple others to get a more holistic view of your topic and find out whether there are additional opinions or outcomes. 

Authority 

  • Who is the author? Note: an “author” could be a person, multiple people, or even a company or organization. 
  • What are their credentials, and are these credentials reputable?  
  • Is the author cited in other sources about this topic (e.g. books or articles)? 
  • Whose perspectives and experiences are included? Whose are excluded?

Date 

  • How recently was the source published or last updated? 
  • How current are the sources that the author cites? Currency is more important in some fields (e.g. health sciences) while not as important in others (e.g. humanities). 
  • If the author links to other sources or uses citations, is it possible to retrieve the original sources? Are any links broken? 

Rationale 

  • What is the purpose of the information? Why did the author publish it (e.g. to inform, teach, entertain, persuade, sell something, or for some other reason)? 
  • Who will benefit from the information as it is presented? 
  • Is there any kind of bias or prejudice? Does the information appear to unfairly favour a group or perspective over others? 

*This framework was adapted from Mandalios, J. (2013). RADAR: An approach for helping students evaluate Internet sources. Journal of Information Science, 39(4), 470–478. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551513478889. 

Considerations for Indigenous Topics

Sources of information on Indigenous topics should meet the same criteria as other sources. According to Rachel Chong, some additional considerations include: 

 

Date 

  • Older sources may not have engaged in respectful research and may misinterpret or misrepresent information and rely on stereotypes. 

Author 

  • Look for a statement situating the author with information on what led them to this research, their family, the Nation(s) they come from, or acknowledgement of key teachers. 
  • Try to find sources authored by members of the community of interest.  

Respectful research includes: 

  • Consulting with community and elders 
  • Offering gifts of reciprocity 
  • Following Indigenous protocols (What does this mean?) 
  • Openness to changing your research perspective or methodology after consultation with community 

To learn more: 

Evaluating Websites

When evaluating websites, the criteria to keep in mind are similar to those for evaluating scholarly sources, however there are a few additional questions to ask yourself:


Authority
  • Is the author or the organization clearly identified? Does the website provide biographical information, including author credentials or qualifications? 
  • Does the website include contact information? 
Accuracy
  • Are there references and/or a bibliography to back up the information presented on the website? 
  • Is the information comparable to similar sites covering the same topic? 
  • Does the text of the website conform to basic grammar, spelling, and compositional standards? 
Currency
  • When was the website created and when was it last updated?
  • Does the site appear to be well-maintained? Are there broken links, for example? 
Coverage
  • Is the website clear about the extent of its coverage – does it claim to be selective or comprehensive? 
  • Are topics explored in-depth, or does the site depend on outside links to provide information? 
  • Are these outside links relevant?
Objectivity
  • What is the purpose of the website – to educate, entertain, to persuade or to sell? 
  • Is the website academic, professional, commercial, or political in nature? 
  • Is the information presented without bias? 
  • Is there advertising on the site that may conflict with the content or purpose of the site? 

Misleading Information

Unlike scholarly sources, claims made on websites are not often supported with good evidence or a bibliography of sources that tell you where the information the author is using originates. In more extreme cases there are websites presenting themselves as legitimate sources with the intent of misleading readers. These so called "fake news" sources have political motives for falsifying information. There are also cases where journals are presenting themselves as legitimate peer-reviewed sources when in fact they do not have a rigorous review process and solicit articles for profit. It can be quite difficult to determine whether some sources are legitimate. Use the SIFT Method* to evaluate an information source.

Stop 

  • Do you already know and trust this source? If not, proceed through next steps - but if you find yourself going off on a tangent, Stop and remind yourself of your goals. This should be a quick process! 

Investigate the source 

  • Before reading, take no more than one minute to investigate your source. To do that, Google the name or URL of the website, and find other sources which discuss yours. For example, is there a Wikipedia page about your source, or another known credible source which provides necessary context? 

Find trusted coverage 

  • If you haven’t been able to verify the credibility of the source, look for better coverage of the topic elsewhere on sites you know to be credible. How does it compare to the coverage you started with? Try a Google search for the piece of information you’re trying to verify, adding “fact check” to the search terms. Many credible news sources provide fact-checks of popular stories they come across in their reporting. Some specialize in fact-checking, such as: 

FactCheck.org  

PolitiFact

Snopes.com  

Washington Post Fact Checker  

Trace claims, quotes, and media back to the original context 

  • If the website or news source links out to the source of its information, follow the link. If that website also cites another source, continue until you have reached the original source. If no source is provided, see if you can find it via Google: 

    • Search Google for any distinctive names or quotes provided to find the original source. 

    • If images are used, do a reverse image search on Google. What’s the earliest post you can find? Is that consistent with your source’s claims? 

  • Once you’ve found the original, use the Investigate method to check the source’s credibility. If it’s credible, read the source for context. Think about the website where you first found this information. Was the information presented fairly? Was there any relevant context that was left out, which might change the meaning of the facts provided? 

*The SIFT method was created by Mike Caulfield. All SIFT information on this page is adapted from his materials with a CC BY 4.0 license. Learn more about fact-checking with his Check, Please! Starter Course, or contact a librarian for help!