Print Vs Web

Quarter
1 Module 5 :
Evaluating Information Sources
(Print Vs. Web
Understanding how to assess the credibility of the information you come across in your study
and research is essential. More information is at our fingertips than ever before and the amount
of information makes it even harder to determine which information can be trusted. As the
terms: post truth, fake news, and alternative facts, become increasingly prevalent in social
discourse and the public sphere it is essential that you develop the skills to critically evaluate
information yourself.
If you were writing an essay about gender equality, would you be more likely to select a journal
article written in 1990 or 2020? When investigating new information, it is extremely important
to consider the source, or the origin from which something is obtained. When you are
investigating a topic, the sources are just as important as the information itself.
One way to analyze sources is through comparing and contrasting. Compare means to
determine the similarities, and contrast means to determine the differences. The rest of this
lesson discusses the steps necessary to compare and contrast sources of information in terms of
accessibility and effectiveness.
▪ Does the information relate to my topic or answer my question?

▪ Who is the intended audience?
▪ Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too simple or advanced) for my needs?
▪ Did I look at a variety of sources before deciding to use this one?
▪ Would I be comfortable using this source for my college research paper?
C. Authority: source of information
Determining the knowledge and expertise of the author of information is an important aspect
of evaluating the reliability of information. Anyone can make an assertion or a statement about
something, event, or idea, but only someone who knows or understands what that thing, event,
or idea is can make a reasonably reliable statement or assertion about it. Some external
indications of knowledge of or expertise are:
▪ a formal academic degree in a subject area
▪ professional or work-related experience–businessmen, government agency personnel, sports
figures, etc. have expertise on their area of work
▪ organizations, agencies, institutions, corporations with active involvement or work in a subject
area.
D. Accuracy: reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the information
Establishing the accuracy, or relative accuracy, of information is an important part of evaluating
the reliability of information. It is easier to establish the accuracy of facts than it is opinions,
interpretations, or ideas. The more an idea, opinion, or other piece of information varies from
the accepted point of view on a particular topic, the harder it is to establish its accuracy. It may
be completely accurate but corroborating it is both more necessary and more difficult. An
important aspect of accuracy is the intellectual integrity of the item.
▪ Are the sources appropriately cited in the text and listed in the references?
▪ Are quotations cited correctly and in context? Out of context quotations can be misleading and
sometimes completely erroneous.
▪ Are there exaggerations, omissions, or errors? These are difficulty to identify if you use only
one source of information. Always use several different sources of information on your topic.
Analyzing what different sources say about a topic is one way to understand that topic.
E. Purpose: reason the information exists Identifying the intended audience of the information
or product is another aspect of evaluating information. The intended audience of an item
generally determines the style of presentation, the level of technical detail, and the depth of
coverage. You should also consider the author’s objectivity. Are they trying to persuade, to
inform, or to entertain? Determining the intended audience of a particular piece of information
will help you decide whether or not the information will be too basic, too technical, too general,
or just right for your needs.
On the other hand, Web sources include anything you can find on the Internet, which contains a
wealth of high-quality information if you know where to look. Some web sources are databases
of scholarly articles. Scholarly articles are published in scholarly journals and are sometimes
called peer-reviewed articles. Scholarly journals specialize in publishing technical and research-
oriented
articles and are mostly intended for students and other scholars. They are often reviewed by
peers in the field in order to ensure that the article is relevant and accurate.
There are many differences between an ordinary article and a scholarly or academic article.
Magazine articles, administration documents, reports from different kinds of organizations,
essays, opinion pieces, or Wikipedia resources are not scholarly articles.
Scholarly articles are a full-length document on original research, and sources of high-valuable
information. They are written by an expert, for other experts, with new information and
research results in some fields. The authors are scholars or researchers with advanced degrees
and/or credentials, like Ph.D. or M.D. and known affiliations. These databases are a great place
to find information. Other web sources can be self-published with unclear origins. There is little
quality control over the information you find, and anyone with access to the Internet can
publish online. This makes it difficult to avoid bias or inaccuracies. It can also be hard to locate
authors and references. Because of these concerns, you cannot assume that information on the
web is accurate. Each web page must be critically examined. When looking for sources–
particularly websites–think about whether or not they are reliable. You want your paper to
contain sources written by unbiased and professional experts, not businessmen with
commercial interests. Using the CRAAP test can also be a good tool to check the reliability and
effectiveness of your source:
A. Currency: the timeliness of the information ▪ When was the information published or posted?
▪ Has the information been revised or updated? ▪ Is the information current or out of date for
your topic? ▪ Are the links functional?
B. Relevance: the importance of the information for your needs ▪ Does the information relate to
your topic or answer your question? ▪ Who is the intended audience? ▪ Is the information at an
appropriate level (i.e. not too elementary or advanced for your needs)? ▪ Have you looked at a
variety of sources before determining this is one you will use? ▪ Would you be comfortable using
this source for a research paper?
C. Authority: the source of the information ▪ Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor? ▪ Are

the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given? ▪ What are the author's credentials
or organizational affiliations given? ▪ What are the author's qualifications to write on the topic?
▪ Is there contact information, such as a publisher or e-mail address? ▪ Does the URL reveal
anything about the author or source? ▪ Is the site personal, commercial, governmental,
organizational, or educational? (.com, .gov, .org, .edu,.net)
D. Accuracy: the reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content ▪ Where does the
information come from? ▪ Is the information supported by evidence? ▪ Has the information
been reviewed or refereed? ▪ Can you verify any of the information in another source or from
personal knowledge? ▪ Does the language or tone seem biased and free of emotion? ▪ Are there
spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?
E. Purpose: the reason the information exists ▪ What is the purpose of the information? to
inform? teach? sell? entertain? persuade? ▪ Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or
purpose clear? ▪ Is the information fact? opinion? propaganda? ▪ Does the point of view appear
objective and impartial? ▪ Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or
personal biases?
Emotion Check
Class rules
Truth & lie

Fake news stat
Presentation of the Lesson

Objectives
Fake and true people valuing

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▪ Does the information relate to my topic or answer my question?

C. Authority: the source of the information ▪ Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor? ▪ Are

Truth & lie

Presentation of the Lesson

Fake and true people valuing

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