Evaluating Information Sources

1
Evaluating Information Sources
2
The Web and print sources (ex. books, magazines,
newspaper) provide billions of pieces of
information.
3
Unfortunately not all are reliable, relevant
accurate, unbiased,or up-to-date.
4
Therefore before being used, information should
be evaluated.
5
A useful tool of evaluation is CARRDS.
6
CARRDS

• C CREDIBILITY
• A ACCURACY
• R RELIABLITY
• R RELEVANCE
• D DATE
• S SOURCE
• S SCOPE PURPOSE

7
CREDIBILITY
CREDIBILITY The quality and capacity of belief.

• Who is the author?
• What are his or her credentials?
• Education? Experience?
• What evidence is offered of his or her
• knowledge?

8
ACCURACY
ACCURACY Freedom from mistake and error.

• Can facts, statistics, or other information be
• verified through other sources?
• Do there appear to be errors on the page
• (i.e., spelling, grammar, facts)?

9
RELIABILITY
RELIABILITY The extent to which a source gives
the same information as other sources.

• Does the source present a particular view
• or bias?
• Is the information affiliated with an
• organization that has a particular political
• or social agenda.

10
RELEVANCE
RELEVANCE The relationship to the focused topic
or question.

• Does the information directly support the
• thesis or help to answer the question?
• Can it be eliminated or ignored because it
• simply does not help?

11
DATE
DATE The time at which an information source is
published or produced.

• Does this project need current, up-to-date
• information?
• When was this Web page created?
• When was it last updated?

12
SOURCE
SOURCE A primary reference work or point of
origin.

• Is the information based on primary or
• secondary sources?
• Did the author document his or her sources?
• What kind of links or further reading did the
• author choose?

13
SCOPE PURPOSE
SOURCE PURPOSE The range of information on a
given topic and the reason behind its creation.

• Does this source address the thesis in a
• comprehensive or peripheral way?
• Is it material that can easily be read and
• understood?

14

• These questions should be posed each time a
  research source is considered.
• If the source does not pass any element of the
  CARRDS test, it should not be used.

15

• The free Web is the part of the Web that is
  accessible by search engines.
• A search engine is an information retrieval
  system. It is the most common tool used to
  locate information on the Web.
• Search engines help to minimize the time required
  to find information and the amount of information
  which must be consulted.

16
Examples of Search Engines

• A search engine is often free and so you get what
  you pay forit is sometimes not trustworthy.
• Examples
• AltaVista
• Infoseek
• Google
• Yahoo
• Excite
• Dogplie
• Lycos

17
Another strategy designed for evaluating Web
content is to examine the end or suffix of the
domain name. This helps to 1. gauge the
validity of the information and 2. gauge
any potential bias.
18
The suffix identifies who the source of
information is and, therefore, what their purpose
is in conveying that information.
19
Examples of Domain Suffixes
.com A commercial site. Purpose to sell a
product or service. May have a
built-in bias that you must be aware of. .biz A
business that could be trying to sell a product
or service. May have built-in
bias. .edu A school, university, museum, or
educational site. Normally
reliable. .gov A U.S. government site.
Normally reliable. .int An international
institution. Normally reliable. .mil A U.S.
military site. Normally reliable. .museum A
museum. Often reliable .name An individual
Internet user. Not reliable and may have
bias .net A network service provider, Internet
administrative site. .org An organization,
often non-profit. These sites can provide
accurate information, but usually have bias.
.pro A professionals site. (tilde) or
A personal site that varies in its credibility