Evaluating Sources

What is a primary source?

• a document or other item created at the time.

• a description of an event written later by a historian

• an opinion piece written by a subject matter expert

• the most important document or account for a given essay

When you are testing to find out if the website you are using has the most up to date information, you are testing for:

• Purpose

• Authority

• Currency

• Relevancy

A website is credible (shows authority & accuracy) when:

• the source is unbelievable and fantastic

• it is unreliable and false

• the source is appropriate for a business report

• it is believable and trustworthy

A website is biased when:

• doesn't tell the whole story

• is trying to convince you to take a side

• it contains opinion instead of fact and is prejudiced and not impartial

• all of the above

How can you check that a website is trustworthy (shows authority & accuracy)?

• Check the links the website has to other sources

• Check the facts with another website

• Research the author of the website

• All of the above

Which of the following is a way to check a websites authority/author

• The author has credentials

• Google the author to find if they have other publications

• The author has contact information

• All of the above

Links that fail to open on a website are called

• debugging

• broken links

• annoying

What does it means to "site" a source?

• to have the author give you permission

• to give credit to the original author

• to determine if the source is reliable.

To determine if a source is current, one can look at the:

• publication date

• copyright date

• last updated date

• All answers (Answers 1,2, and 3)

In which subject is "currency" not always an issue?

• biology

• economics

• history

• law