HOW TO EVALUATE INFORMATION

RELEVANT

Student Notebook

Sample 1 : Why did dinosaurs die out?

ACCURATE

Student Notebook

Sample 1

Sample 2

AVAILABLE

Student Notebook

Sample 1

Sample 2

CURRENT

Student Notebook

Sample 1

Sample 2

COMPREHENSIVENESS

Student Notebook

Sample 1

Sample 2

No EVIDENCE OF BIAS

Student Notebook

Sample 1

Sample 2

NO EVIDENCE OF DISCREPANCY

Student Notebook

Sample 1

Sample 2

RELIABLE

Student Notebook

Sample

Sample 1: What are dinosaurs - bird or reptile? warm-blooded or cold blooded?

RACER

Is the information: RELEVANt - Accurate - Available - CURRENt (up to Date)- COMPREHENSIVEness (Complete) - No Evidence of BIAS OR DISCREPANCY - RELIABLE. . . . .

	WHAT TO LOOK FOR FIRST
IS THE INFORMATION RELEVANT?	WHICH MEANS	HOW CAN I TELL?
RELEVANT	WILL IT HELP ME WITH MY Question or problem?	BY THE TITLE By the summary BY THE CHAPTERS BY THE INDEX BY THE HEADINGS BY THE AUTHOR BY THE SITE
	PROBING DEEPER INTO THE INFORMATION
IS THE INFORMATION ACCURATE?	WHICH MEANS	HOW DO I TELL?
ACCURATE	are the facts and opinions correct?	what do I know about the topic? what do other sources say about the same thing? What do Teachers, Parents, Librarians Say? What does a Dictionary, an Encyclopedia or other reference source say? How old is the information? How new is the Information? What sources do the authors use to support their statements?
IS THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE?	WHICH MEANS	HOW DO I TELL?
AVAILABLE	DO I NEED THE FULL TEXT OR THE ORIGINAL SOURCE? IS THE BOOK BEING USED BY SOMEONE ELSE? IS THE FULL TEXT AVAILABLE electronically or ONLINE? IS THE MATERIAL IN ANOTHER LOCATION? CAN I UNDERSTAND THE AUTHOR?	IS THE FULL TEXT OF THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO ME? HOW SOON DO I NEED IT? DO I HAVE ENOUGH BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE AUTHOR IS SAYING?
IS THE INFORMATION CURRENT?	WHICH MEANS	HOW DO I TELL?
CURRENT	HOW RECENTLY WAS THE PUBLICATION PRODUCED?	WHAT IS THE DATE OF THE PUBLICATION? HAS ANY NEW INFORMATION BECOME AVAILABLE SINCE THEN? What other sources can i check?
IS THE INFORMATION COMPREHENSIVE?	WHICH MEANS	HOW DO I TELL?
COMPREHENSIVE	how much does the information tell ME about the topic?	Does the Author give more than one opinion or cite other people's ideas? does it answer all of my questions? what do other sources say about the same thing?
	WHAT ABOUT POINTS OF VIEW AND MISTAKES OR INACCURACIES?
DOES THE INFORMATION SHOW Evidence of BIAS OR SLANT?	WHICH MEANS	HOW DO I TELL?
SHOW Evidence of BIAS OR SLANT	CAN I TELL IF THE AUTHOR HAS A POINT OF VIEW? DOES THE AUTHOR PROVIDE ONLY ONE POINT OF VIEW? DOES THE AUTHOR PROVIDE THE POINT OF VIEW OF OTHERS AS WELL AS HIS/HER OWN?	IS THE WRITING PERSUASIVE? IS THE WRITING EXPOSITORY? IS THE WRITING NARRATIVE? does the author mention other people? other ideas? how RELIABLE are the other ideas?
Does THE INFORMATION. . .	WHICH MEANS	HOW DO I TELL?
SHOW EVIDENCE OF DISCREPANCY?	TWO SOURCES GIVE DIFFERENT INFORMATION ABOUT THE SAME TOPIC TWO SOURCES SAY THINGS THAT CANNOT BOTH BE TRUE	I can: CHECK A THIRD SOURCE RELY ON THE MOST TRUSTWORTHY SOURCE IF I AM TELLING SOMEONE ELSE WHAT I LEARNED, I can TELL ABOUT THE two ideas AND/OR GIVE THE SOURCE OF THE MOST RELIABLE INFORMATION
	who says this is good information?
Is the information Reliable?	Which means	How Do I Tell?
RELIABLE	CAN I TRUST THE INFORMATION PRESENTED? What are the qualifications of the author? or the publisher?	does the information agree or disagree with what I already know? do other sources say the same or different things? What does the book jacket or the introduction say about the work? What does the librarian or the teacher say about the work? What does the site say about the work? Is there any award attached to the work? Is it a relevant award? Are there any reviews of the work available?