Selecting Sources of Information
Lesson Focus: Website Evaluation
By the end of the lesson you should be able to:
- critically evaluate online sources of information using appropriate criteria
- outline the CRAAP test method
Think about the last thing you searched for on the internet.
In pairs, discuss the following questions:
- What website did you go to?
- What was the purpose of the search? Personal knowledge? School project?
- Did you pay attention to the author of the website? Was that important for your purposes? Why or why not?
Watch the following video:
While you watch, find one new thing about evaluating sources of information that you don’t already know.
READ
Critically evaluating sources of information
Definitions:
Reliable – able to be trusted
Credible – able to be believed
Not all information is good information, especially online. Evaluating sources of information is an important part of locating and selecting quality information for your research purposes.
Evaluating online information means to check the information is reliable and credible.
What does it mean to critically evaluate?
It means to to carefully consider the strengths and weaknesses, advantages and limitations of something so as to make a judgement about the value, worth or relevance of it.
How should I critically evaluate sources of information?
Use a criteria checklist like the CRAAP Test (see below) to help you evaluate sources of information, especially online sources.
The test provides a list of questions to ask yourself to decide whether or not a source is reliable and credible enough to use in your research.
Time to practise!
Imagine you need to research whether earthquakes can be predicted. Is this a good website to use?
Your teacher will work with you to evaluate a website using the CRAAP test.
Now it’s your turn!
You still need to find information about earthquakes. You need to find out:
- What is an earthquake?
- What the impacts of an earthquake are?
- How to prepare for an earthquake and what to do during one?
Use the CRAAP test to decide whether or not the following two websites are good sources of information to use for your research.
Website 1.
Website 2.
How can you make finding good websites even easier?
TOP TIPS:
- Use the websites listed in the Library Course Guides for your task.
- Use the Library Catalogue
- Check AUTHORITY first
Image References:
Group discussion [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://nvdpl.ca/event/parkgate-discussion-lounge-3