Evaluating what you find - is it good enough?

Authority refers to the expertise and affiliations of the author of the work, whether that is an individual or an organisation: 

• Who created the work? Who published it?
• What are their credentials and affiliations? Are they an expert in the field? Or a respected, legitimate organisation or company?
• Who is the publisher?

Currency relates to when the information or resource was created.

Consider:

• when was the resource published?
• When was the information last updated on a website?
• Is currency important to your information need? This can depend on your topic, or the type of information you are using

Purpose and objectivity refer to why the information was created, and how unbiased it is.

Consider:

• What is the purpose of the information? Why was it created? Some common examples can include:
  • commercial / to try and sell something
  • for information
  • satire
  • education
  • opinion.
• Information aimed at a particular audience (e.g. school students) may not be comprehensive enough for your purposes.
• Can you detect any bias? Opinion pieces often contain bias, as do advertisements.
• Does it attempt to appeal to your emotions through the use of emotive language or images? Most academic sources use objective language and specific examples.
• Has information been intentionally or unintentionally excluded? Scholarly, reliable information should be objective and present all sides to an argument.

Reliability refers to how much you can trust the information provided.

Consider:

• Can you verify the facts presented? Look for a reference list or links to corroborating/verifying information.
• In scientific papers/research, can the research be replicated? Is there enough information about how the information was gathered/analysed (particularly for data)?
• Is the journal peer reviewed? Peer reviewed journals have the most academic credibility.