video: NCSU Libraries http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/ 
The video is published under a Creative Commons 3.0 BY-NC-SA US license 

Assessing information is not always that easy. There is a lot of biased, incorrect and misleading information on the internet. It is, therefore, important that you determine whether a source that you have found is actually correct and can be cross-referenced.

How can you assess whether you have found good or poor information? 
Ask yourself the following:

  • Who is the author? Is this person an expert in this field? 
    Ask yourself why someone does not wish it to be known that he or she is responsible for the content when you cannot find out who the author is!
  • Is the information being influenced by an organisation? 
    This does not necessarily mean that the information is biased or incorrect but it is important that you are aware of this. Take the background of the source of the information and the opinion that they wish to present into account.
  • Can you check the reliability? Does it, for example, contain literature references?
  • Check whether the information agrees with other information that you have already found.
  • How up-to-date is the information? When was the information or the website updated last? 

Useful links:

-> Evaluating websites with the CRAAP Test

Developed by the Meriam Library at California State University, Ohio

Web Page Evaluation Checklist