Evaluating Sources

Evaluating Sources

When using any sources of information you need to give yourself some time to evaluate the information you are using and why you are using it. Valuable marks can be gained in essays and reports when you include this. It is often easier to evaluate written sources and you are normally given more information about the author of the source and their authority in the subject but internet sources can be more difficult to evaluate based on the information found on the website.

For many subjects at National 5, Highers and Advanced Highers, when you write a report, especially where you may have had to interpret data to prove a theory or a statement, then not only do the SQA want to know what sources you used, they want to know why they were RELEVANT and RELIABLE, and saying that they are good or useful is not detailed enough!

The following questions will help you evaluate your sources quickly and easily and if you use the same criteria for each source you use it will become very straightforward.

This test is a way to evaluate a source based on: Currency, Reliability, Authority and Purpose/Point of View. Below are some questions to help you think about how to measure each of the criteria.

Currency

  • How recent is the information?

  • Is it current enough for your topic?

  • If the information is from a website, when was the site last updated?

  • Is it at the right level?

  • Is it relevant?

Reliability

  • What kind of information is included in the source? Is it accurate?

  • Is content of the source primarily opinion? Is it balanced?

  • Where did the author get the information?

  • Do they provide references where the information has come from and sources of further information?

Authority

  • Who are the authors or creators? What are their qualifications for writing the source?

  • Does the way in which they make a living influence the kind of information they are giving you

  • Who is the publisher or sponsor? Are they well known with a good reputation?

  • If it's from a website, does it have advertisements?

Purpose/Point of View

  • Is this fact or opinion?

  • Who is the audience it was written for?

  • Is it biased?

  • Is the creator/author trying to sell you something?

Information taken from the University of Bedfordshire Website


Evaluating a Website.pdf