Evaluate Sources: Home

As a college student you know that your job is to evaluate the sources you use for your papers, presentations and research. But how do you do it? These points are most appropriate for sources available from the library, but they can be tweaked for web and news sources.

Expertise

What does the author know about the subject?

Objectivity

What is the purpose of the source?

Documentation

Where did the author get their information?

Timeliness

When was the material created?

Fact Checking

Was the material reviewed for publication?

This guide was adapted from 5 Steps to Evaluation, from the College of the Mainland Library, published under a creative commons license.