NCompass Live: Information Literacy and the ESL/ELL Student: Alleviating Library Anxiety January 23, 2019 http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ncompasslive/

1. Evaluating Sources
Rev. 08/2016
“Evaluate” means using your critical thinking skills to decide if you should use the information and how you should
use it. As you find sources, ask yourself the questions listed below.
WHO
Who wrote the article? Are they an expert? ________________________________________________________
Who published the item? Is the publisher reliable?__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT
What is the point of the site, article, or book? Is it only facts, or is it someone’s opinion?_____________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
What type of information is included: opinion, statistics, research?______________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
WHEN
When was this information published or last updated?_______________________________________________
Is it current enough for your research?____________________________________________________________
WHERE
Where does the author get their information? Is the author using their own research or are they using someone
else’s research or opinions?____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Where can you get more information about this topic?_______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
WHY
Why is this information useful to you?____________________________________________________________
Why should you use this website/article? Why should you not use this website/article?______________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________