EN 121 A Writing: Library Modules (Dr. Beth Capo & Mr. Luke Beatty): Module #4 (Week 10): Source Evaluation

In this module we're going to cover one method of evaluating the sources/information you find.  Evaluation is perhaps the trickiest and most important information literacy skill of all - after all, finding sources can be difficult, but knowing whether to keep those sources can be the difference between success and failure.

For this module, I've only provided one video and two handouts because I really want you to spend some time internalizing the model below.  It isn't complicated, but it requires you to think about a) what type of source you've found, and b) what questions you should be asking yourselves about the source.  A good evaluation of your source will lead you to high quality information, but a poor evaluation will leave you susceptible to low-quality information, fake news, advertisements-masquerading-as-information, etc.

Applying the skills you've learned in this week's module to your assignment, you're now going to reduce the number of books, scholarly articles, and Internet resources that you'll use in your final annotated bibliography.  This is meant to mimic the actual research project, where you will usually find many more resources than you'll actually end up using.  Have a look at your assignment for the details!