Here are a few suggested questions that can help you evaluate resources

1. Evaluating
Resources

2. General Criteria
Authors
Currency
Evidence

3. Authors
Who is the author?
 Are they an
expert? Why or
why not?
What type of
author might be
more
authoritative?
What type of
author might be
less authoritative?

4. Currency
When was the
resource
published?
What major events
or policy changes
impact your topic?
 How does the age
of your resource
compare to these
events?

5. Evidence
What evidence do
they cite?
Who are the
authors for the
evidence?
 How current is the
evidence?

6. Research-Specific Criteria
Primary vs Secondary Resource
Health-Specific Questions

7. Source Type
 Is it a primary
source (original
experiment)?
 Is it a secondary
source (review of
other
experiments)?
 For your topic,
which type of
source is more
useful?

8. Health-Specific Questions
Does the article support its claims
with scientific research?
Was the research in humans?
How many people did the research
study include?
Did the study have a control group?
Did the study actually assess what is
in the headline?
Who paid for and conducted the
study?

9. Reference
White, A. (n.d.). How to read health news. In
PubMed Health. Retrieved from http://
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/
behindtheheadlines/how-to-read/