When selecting sources, there are two main questions to ask as you decide whether or not it will meet your needs:
There are other considerations which can help you answer those (potentially complex) questions, but it's important to keep in mind that your sources should answer your question and be quality sources deserving of your trust.
To evaluate each source:
- Take a quick look through your source to understand its contents
- Assess if it contains the information you need to answer your question or solve your problem
- Do some thinking:
Consider the source's creator, intended audience, and purpose.
Go "upstream" and track down the original source of the information.
Read other sources to verify the facts.
- Decide if your source is worth trusting
There are other more detailed strategies you can follow for evaluating sources (some examples include asking the 5 W questions or using a source evaluation checklist), but, unfortunately, there's not always an easy yes or no answer here. Instead you need to make a thoughtful decision using any information you can find about the author, website, publisher, or material. The quality of the answer to your information need depends on this, so don't skip this process when choosing sources!
The sources included on this guide are generally of high quality and good credibility, but it's always important to keep your information filter turned ON.