Evaluating information plays a crucial role in our ability to make informed decisions, think critically, and navigate an increasingly complex and information-rich world. Being able to evaluate the information you find is one of the most important aspects of being an information literate individual.
Evaluating information helps you:
Ensure that the information you encounter is accurate and factual sound.
Determine the credibility and authority of sources and whether the information is trustworthy and reliable.
Avoid misinformation, and identify and avoid spreading false or misleading content.
Use critical thinking skills to help you analyze, question, and assess the validity of information.
Lead to informed decision-making based on a solid foundation of knowledge.
Identify bias or potential bias of a source.
Using library sources is a great place to start in your research, but many outside sources require you to evaluate them for authority, credibility, and bias, and this guide will help you do that.
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