English 102: Evaluating Information

The credibility of a source depends on how and why it was created, its creator’s expertise and objectivity, the accuracy and completeness of the information presented, whether the information is current, and how the source will be used.

Some sources may be very credible but still inappropriate choices for a research assignment, depending on the requirements of the assignment.

Other sources, such as “fake news” and other dis/misinformation are never credible, no matter how convincing they are.

The process of evaluating a source -- especially an internet source -- includes both:

• fact-checking by examining other sources such as internet fact-checking tools; and
• analyzing the source itself by examining its purpose, relevance, objectivity, verifiability, expertise, and newness.

The strategies below come from Mike Caulfield’s free online book, Web Literacy For Student Fact-Checkers (2017), which provides detailed fact-checking instructions, including how to: determine the reputation of a scientific journal; figure out the original source of viral content; figure out who paid for a website; see if a tweet was sent by an imposter; find web pages that have been deleted; verify quotes from printed books; and more.

Check for previous work.

• Has someone already fact-checked this source? Try fact-checker sites like Politifact, Factcheck.org, Snopes, or Lie Detector (Spanish language).

Find the original source.

• Who originally published the information and why? Find the original source of the information before evaluating it.

Read laterally.

• What do other sources say about this publication and author? What a source says about itself may not be trustworthy.

Circle back.

• How can you revise your search to yield better results? Use what you’ve learned to start over with new search terms.

Check your own emotions.

• We are more likely to believe something that stirs strong emotions. Be aware of your own biases as you fact-check.