Source Evaluation and Search Strategies
iStudy would like to acknowledge Alice Whiteside for revising the content of this tutorial.
Purpose
Many of us are inclined to accept all sources of information as valid and reliable. Some people would call this being gullible or easily swayed. Others would say that some kind of source evaluation is required before accepting premises or ideas. In college, as well as work and "real life," some sources are more appropriate than others.
Writing a research paper is an example of a time when the use of the appropriate sources is important. To excel in an academic environment, you must learn how to locate and properly evaluate information and data that you have collected while conducting literature reviews, interviews, or doing other forms of research.
This tutorial will help you to understand basic concepts related to locating and evaluating information. By explaining the different types of sources and the criteria for determining the quality of a source, you will be better prepared to conduct a college-level literature review.
Goals and Objectives
By the time you finish this tutorial, you will be able to:
- Identify different types of sources and their appropriateness.
- Use search strategies to locate information/sources.
- Apply questions to help evaluate sources.
- Apply criteria and establish the quality of sources.
Activities
- Read the information about source evaluation and search strategies.
- Activity 1: Finding Information
- Read the information about making good use of resources for fiding sources.
- Activity 2: Searching Strategies
- Read the information about refining the source evaluation process.
- Activity 3: How to evaluate materials?
- Read the information about the tangled Web
- Activity 4: Practice of Source Evaluation
Note: All external links in this tutorial will open in a new window or tab.
