Stop-Investigate-Find-Trace
Tools for Evaluation
How can we know if the information we found is reliable?
There are many methods, tips, and mnemonics for evaluating information. A few diagrams to help you along the way are shown below. The main point of all of them: ask questions!
- Who wrote the article? What's their relationship to the subject in question?
- Is this the most current information? Do you need to have the most current information possible?
- What can you learn (if anything) about the place this item appears? Is it a publication, a website, something else? Can you find the original source?
- What's the scientific evidence behind this story?
- What do others have to say about this particular piece of information?