Evaluating Stuff

By the end of this session, you should:

• Be able to identify key areas for evaluating the sources you find

• Recognise and be able to explain the effect which bias and perspective has on information sources

Learning Outcomes

What is evaluation?

Evaluation

Evaluation is:

• “To find out or state the value of, to assess” – Oxford Study Dictionary

• “Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of something” – Collins School Dictionary

• A systematic determination of a subject's merit, worth and significance

• Required to get higher marks in your assignments

More appropriate

Less appropriate

Peer-reviewed journal

Respected magazine

Regularly-publishedmagazine

Website/blog

Peer-reviewed

Respected author

Named author

Anonymous author

Hierarchy of sources

• Who was it written for? – Level of text (GCSE, Degree-level, Specialist)

• Where was it published? – A US source may not have the correct information for a UK essay

• What format is it in? – An article in Vogue carries more weight than a post on TMZ

• When was it written? – You generally need up-to-date information for it to be accurate

• Why did they write it? – Bias or involvement in events affects an author’s version of the facts

• HoW is it useful for your assignment? – Regardless of how good it is, a source must support your work, not the other way

around

The 6 W’s of evaluation

CRAAP Evaluation

There are lots of different ways to approach evaluation of information sources. One option is CRAAP.

• Currency, or timeliness, of information

• Relevance and importance to you

• Authority of the information source

• Accuracy of information provided

• Purpose the information exists for

• Anonymous authors

• Bias or opinion in the information given

• Unsupported or out-of-date information

• Heavy usage of non-academic style

• Populist, sensational or commercial motivations

This applies to magazines as well as certain websites…

Warning signs

You can still make use a source if you have concerns after evaluating it. However, you should make clear these concerns, and offer balance wherever possible:

• If a source appears biased, look for evidence presented from an alternate viewpoint

• If a source is dated, make this clear and look for supporting evidence that is more current

• If a source was written for a distinct audience, emphasise this and look for other perspectives

Balancing sources

Model:LearnHigher

Image credit: .University of Leeds .

Evaluative Questioning