Sheridan College Libraries

All of us are inundated daily with enormous amounts of information from many sources, in many forms and we must learn to distinguish which information is appropriate to specific needs. Those who make the distinction and are able to critically evaluate the information are "information literate".

There are four steps in the critical evaluation of information: 1) articulating the information needed, 2) selecting the information or literatures, 3) analyzing the content of the selected information and 4) evaluating the contribution of the information to meet your research needs.

Articulating your information need. (Or, what do I need?)

• What is your assignment?
  • Do you have a thesis or main idea?

• What kind(s) of information do you think will help you complete that assignment, project or paper?
  • Do you need historical or current information?
  • Do you need factual or statistical information?
  • Do you need a book review or literary criticism?
  • Do you need to focus on the trends of an industry or the status of a single company?
  • Do you need information from primary or secondary sources?
  • Do you need information from scholarly or general interest materials?
  • Which kind of information is most important or central to your need?

• How much information will you need?
  • Are you writing a five (5) page paper or an honors thesis?
  • Do you need a single fact or statistics over a range of years?

• What do you know already about the subject?
  • Do you recognize any bias on your part about the subject?

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Selecting a piece of information or literature. (Or why should I read/use this?)

• What is the full title of the piece?
  • Does the title tell you anything?
  • Is the language used in the title technical or general?
  • Is the language straightforward or tongue-in-cheek?

• Can you tell when this piece was published? Is it out of date?

• Who is/are the author(s)?
  • What credentials or experience does the author have?
    • Does the author have any known affiliation that would indicate a specific agenda or bias?
    • Has the author produced other pieces on this subject?

• Who is the publisher?
  • What is the publisher's reputation?
  • Is the publisher a government agency or a private concern?
  • In which country was this piece published or produced?
  • Does that country represent a specific point of view?

• Is there a table of contents, an outline, or index?
  • Are there special appendices?
  • Does the arrangement of the information make it easy to find what you need?

• Are the scope and purpose of the work stated clearly?
  • Is the work too specific?
  • Is the time period covered in the piece appropriate?
  • An abstract, if present, should outline the scope and purpose.

• What is the intended audience for the information? Students, professionals, or general audience?
  • Is the language used in the piece appropriate to your level of understanding?

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Analyzing the content of the selected information. (Or what does this present and how is it presented?)

• What is the author's thesis?

• What is the author's methodology, if any?

• What are the main findings or points of the piece?

• Does the author's conclusion follow logically from the main points?

• Does the author present fact (which can be verified) or opinion (which evolves from the interpretation of facts.)?
  • Learn to recognize vague statements, generalizations, or stereotypes, and emotional appeals.

• Does the author present the information objectively from various points of view, or with bias, from a particular point of view?
  • Is the information presented in the most appropriate format for your needs?
    • Is it printed or electronic?
    • Book or article?
    • Can you download/save, print, or email the data?
    • Is data presented in charts, graphs or tables?
    • Is this a video or audio recording?

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Evaluating the information to meet your research needs. (Or, will this help me?)

• Does the information appear to answer your questions or support your original ideas?
• Does it present another point of view?
• Does it update, substantiate or add to your knowledge of the subject?
• Do others agree with its conclusions?
• What are your ideas or biases now on this subject, after evaluating/using this information?

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