## 4.1 : General criteria

Peter Steiner's cartoon, as published in The New Yorker
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Internet_dog.jpg

To evaluate an information source, you can pose several questions:

Currency

- Is the information still valid?
- When was the material published? Does this mean the content is dated?

Reliability

- Notes, citations and bibliographic references allow you to verify the information.
  You can view the sources used by the author to determine whether you agree with the author's interpretation. Information that cannot be verified is, by definition, less reliable.
- Do experts consider it high-quality material?
- Has the material been cited in other sources?

Authority

- Who is the author? Is this person an expert? Is the individual still active in their field?
- Which organisation or institute has provided the information? How does this affect the quality of the information?
- Has the information undergone editing? Did experts perform the editing?

Purpose

- For which target group has the material been compiled, and for what objective? Might the information be biased or even self-censored? Examples include propaganda, advertising and recruitment texts.
- Does the source primarily contain facts or opinions? Are the opinions substantiated by facts?
- Is the information complete, meaning, have all perspectives been used?
- Is the information accurate? Does it match that of other sources?