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 Pilot Online Information Literacy Tutorial
Evaluating information
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  Pilot Pre-exercise Module 5
 
Question 1

Not all information is equally valuable. Retrieved information must be carefully examined to determine its usefulness and quality. The following exercise will illustrate the importance of evaluating the information you find.

You are writing an assignment on current AIDS research and you have found several information sources. Look at the source below carefully, and determine if it would be appropriate for your assignment.

For this source, which of the following statements is false?
The source is on the topic of AIDS
The source is dated 1983 and is too old to be current research
The source is only a news item
The language is too simple and aimed at school children
I would need other sources for my topic

Question 2

The following journal is a refereed journal on my topic
When a journal contains refereed articles, it has been:
Overseen by an umpire
Looked at by other university students
Examined by experts in that field prior to publication
Recommended by my lecturer
Included in a database

Question 3

Why is this resource inappropriate for your university assignment?
The resource is not on the topic of AIDS
The resource is written by people with no medical background
There has been no editing or checking of the resource prior to publication
The content is designed to teach children about AIDS rather than document current research
It is on loan

Question 4

In evaluating sources, one important aspect is the reliability of the author or source where the information was published. Which of the following would you not consider when looking at the reliability of an author or source?
Whether the source is a refereed journal or a popular newspaper
Who is sponsoring the web site where the information is available
Whether the source is too old for my current topic
Whether the author's details and credentials are provided
Whether the source may disappear off the web site

Question 5

How should you determine if a resource is accurate?
By writing to the author and asking him/her to send you his research
By only using sources your lecturer mentions
By asking your classmates to evaluate the sources
By trusting that the information, if published, is always accurate and complete
By looking for omissions, references to facts and sources, and thinking about biases in the author or publisher