BSPM424 - Principles of Systematic Zoology

How current or up to date is the information?

1. What type of infomation do you need? Are you looking for historical, or current information?
   • Does this type of inforamtion change quickly such as with the sciences?


2. When was it published? Have there been updates/edits?
   • Articles and books will have a publication date with them.
   • Some websites will have a date (usually at the bottom of the page) saying when the website was made and/or last updated. Sometimes the date will be listed in an "about" section. Many websites will not have a date associate with them.


3. How current is the acutal information?
   • Is it recently published but uses old or out of date information?
   • If sources are mentioned, look at their currency.


4. If there are links, do they work? Are they up to date?
    

A note on websites:
Currency can be hard to determine for websites. If there is not a date made or date updated, evaluate the information itself. Compare the information with information you find from a known current source. Sometimes the syle of the site can help. Does it look out of date?

Is the information relevant to you and what you need to know?

1. Is the information about your specific topic or interest?
   • Not only is it generally on your topic, but does it cover your specific interests?
   • Does it provide answers to your question(s)?


2. Is it at the approprite level? Is it too technical or too simplified?
   • Can you understand the language and writing? (Is it too technical?)
   • Will your audience (if it is being used for a paper/presentation) understand the language and writing?
   • Are you learning from it / is it providing you with new information? Or is it too simplified?


3. If it is for an assignment, does it meet the requirements?

Who wrote it? How well does the author know the topic?

1. Is the author an expert in the subject?
   • Often the authors current position (a university professor? a journalist?) and where they obtained their knowledge is listed somehwere with the information.


2. What is the authors background?
   • Similar to figuring out if the author is an expert. Look for their education or experience information.


3. Does the author seem to be expressing his/her opinions or bias?


4. Who is the publisher?
   • Is it published by an academic journal? A non-specific website? The authors own blog?...

**Can you trust that the information the author is giving you is accurate and reliable? Does he or she know what they are talking about?**

How accurate is the information?

1. Are there sources? If yes, do the sources seem reliable?
   • Is there a bibliography?
   • Are the sources current?
   • Are the sources academic? Are they from news sources? Websites?


2. Does it make sense?
   • Does the writing make sense?
   • Are there grammar/spelling errors?
   • Was the information reviewed by others?


3. Is it an outlier?
   • How does the information compare to other sources of information?


4. Does it seem to be factual, or more oppininate or biased?
   • If it is talking about research, how was the research done? Would it reproducable?

Why was the information written/published?

1. Is the author trying to inform or educate? To sell or persuade? To entertain?
   • Be careful! Sometimes something meant to sell can be disguised as educational.


2. Is it overly opinionate, biased or prejudiced?
   • Are politics, religion, or ideologies playing a role in the information?


3. Are alternative points of view presented in a non judgmental way? Are they omited all together?


4. Are facts or points left out?


5. Is the writing emotional or factual?

**Think critically!**
Determining purpose can be difficult. Remember, anyone can put anything online and many things are biased.