HOW TO EVALUATE INFORMATION

RELEVANT

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Sample 1 : Why did dinosaurs die out? 

 

ACCURATE

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Sample 1  

Sample 2

 

AVAILABLE

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Sample 1  

Sample 2

 

CURRENT  

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Sample 1  

Sample 2

 

 

COMPREHENSIVENESS

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Sample 1  

Sample 2

 

No EVIDENCE OF BIAS

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Sample 1  

Sample 2

 

NO EVIDENCE OF DISCREPANCY

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Sample 1  

Sample 2

 

RELIABLE

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Sample 

 

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

 

 


RAACCER    

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

 WHAT DO I LOOK FOR FIRST?
IS THE INFORMATION RELEVANT?

WHICH MEANS

 

 

WILL IT HELP ME WITH MY  Question or problem?
How can I tell if information  is RELEVANT?  

Is information related to the topic?

 

LOOK AT THE TITLE

LOOK AT the summary

LOOK AT THE CHAPTERS

LOOK AT THE INDEX

LOOK AT THE HEADINGS

LOOK AT THE AUTHOR (Has he written other things on same topic?)

LOOK AT THE SITE

PROBING DEEPER INTO THE INFORMATION

What do I look for?

IS THE INFORMATION ACCURATE?

WHICH MEANS

 

Are the Facts correct?

Are the opinions based on sound facts and research?

How can I tell if information is ACCURATE?            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

 

 

DO I Have ACCESS to the information I need?
How Do I know if the information I need is AVAILABLE?

WHAT DO I NEED?

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 RECENTLY WAS THE PUBLICATION PRODUCED?
HOW DO I TELL if the information is CURRENT?

 

WHAT IS THE DATE OF THE PUBLICATION?

HAS ANY NEW INFORMATION BECOME AVAILABLE SINCE THEN?

What other sources can i check?

What do Other sources say?

IS THE INFORMATION COMPREHENSIVE?

WHICH MEANS

 

how much does the information tell ME about the topic?
HOW DO I TELL if the information is COMPREHENSIVE?

 

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? What do I look for?
DOES THE INFORMATION SHOW Evidence of  BIAS OR SLANT? 

WHICH MEANS

Is the author trying to take one side or support just one idea?
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 SHOW EVIDENCE OF DISCREPANCY?

WHICH MEANS

DOES The information haVE errors and mistakes?
 

HOW DO I TELL?

 

 

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?

What Do I Look FOR?

Is the information Reliable?

Which means

Can the information be trusted?
How Do I Tell if the information is 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?

Created by Carol J. Fox

©2001, All rights reserved.