Child Development I & II Educ& 115 & 122: Help with Evaluating Sources

• How recent is the information, does it matter to your topic?
• Has the resource been consistently updated/revised?
• Are links current and working?

• Is the information really relevant to your topic?
• Does the creator provide references or sources for data or ideas?
• Are there errors?

• Who is the creator, author or sponsor?
• What credentials does the author or organization have?
• Does their experience or education indicate that they could be considered "experts"?
• Is information about the creator easily found?
• Is information provided about funding sources or data gathering for the work?

• What is the the purpose of the site? Is it obvious what it's for?
• Are they trying to sell you something or promote an idea?
• Who is the intended audience?
• Is there a strong bias, an aggressive use of language, or a balanced tone?
• Are there lots of pop-ups and irrelevant ads?

STOP

• Check your emotions - if your first response to information is emotional or reactive, take a moment and pause before you act.
• What do you know about the source?
• What do you know about the information?
• Try the other steps before you commit, share, or repost.

• Who wrote it and why?
• Who is the speaker, author, or publisher? What is the purpose or the agenda for supplying the information? Who supports them? Where does the financial support come from? What is the expertise, education, experience behind the information?
• If you don't know or can't find out, try a quick Google or Wikipedia search for the person or organization.

• Look for the information in other trusted sources.
• Check in at least three other places to verify accuracy and coverage.
• Is there more reliable or in-depth information elsewhere? Use that instead!

• Dig deeper to find the original source for the claim and verify how the information is used or reused.
• Check for expert consensus or historical context.