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Evaluate Sources
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Evaluate Sources
Learn how to decide whether a source is credible, and worthy of being used in your assignment.
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How-To
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Claire Ehrlich
she/her/hers
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Contact:
Payne Hall 204
315-731-5737
Evaluating sources:
critically evaluating information in relation to a given
purpose
, in order to determine if it is
appropriate
for the intended use.
Why Evaluate Sources?
Not all information is of equal value.
Different sources have different purposes:
Some information is meant to inform.
Some information is meant to entertain.
Some information is meant to persuade.
Some information is meant to mislead.
Different authors have different levels of expertise and authority:
Some authors have doctoral degrees in their subject area.
Some authors are professional journalists, trained in gathering and reporting information to the public.
Some authors have worked in their field for decades.
Some authors are biased.
Some authors do not know any more about their subject than you or I do.
Making informed decisions about which sources to use and not use will improve your research (and probably your grade!).
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