Evaluating the Credibility of Sources

What is credibility?

“the quality of ______________________________________________________”

Credible Sources
When you search for information on the web, you’re going to find lots of it. Not all information found on the Internet,
however, is of ___________________ value or worth your time and study.

Anyone, in theory, can publish information on the web. Therefore, it is important that you develop a ______________
________and skill set to help you determine the credibility of the electronic sources that you come across in your
research.

Remember - your own academic credibility and merit of your work can only be as strong as the _________________
and ______________ that you include to support your ideas.

How to Determine if a Source is Credible

Use the following criteria to help you determine whether or not a source is credible:

❏ CURRENCY

❏ When was it _______________ or _______________ ?

❏ Has it been _______________ ?

❏ Does your topic require _______________ information, or is it okay to include older sources? (ex:
____________________________________)

❏ AUTHORITY of the ________________ and ________________

❏ What are the author’s ________________, ________________, ________________ and

________________? (Google them!)

❏ Are they ________________to write on ________________________?

❏ What type of website is their work published on? Is it a ________________________?

❏ ACCURACY

❏ Are the author’s information, ideas and opinions supported by ________________?

❏ Does it include accurate ________________ and ________________?

❏ Is there a list of ________________?

❏ Can you ________________ any of the information by using _______________________?

❏ Does the language or tone seem ________________? ________________?

❏ Are there ________________, ________________, or ________________ errors?