Research Guides: Information Literacy Toolkit: Resource for Teaching Faculty: Evaluating Information

Focus Area

As students evaluate their sources, it is important to examine each one to determine the quality and appropriateness of the given assignment. There are many great tools for evaluating sources that can be used in conjunction with standing assignments or as an in-class activity.

Teaching Resources

Library Worksheets & Activities

Evaluating Sources Worksheet
This worksheet is targeted at early researchers (first and second-year students) and breaks down source evaluation into a four-step process. This could be used at a course level to help guide a lesson on evaluating information or used by individual students to interrogate the suitability of a specific information source.

What makes a source "good"? (Activity from Project CORA)
This activity is a student-centered, discussion-oriented alternative to providing students the CRAAP (Currency, Relevancy, Accuracy, Authority, Purpose) test, drawing upon students' existing knowledge on information quality and encouraging reflection and nuanced perspectives on the impact of the construction and contextuality of authority.

Anatomy of a Journal Article (Handout)
Provided by APA, this one-page PDF walks students through the anatomy of a journal article. Each part of an article serves a purpose, and if students know the purpose, they can become more efficient at reading and understanding articles.