PHIL 100 - Introduction to Philosophy: Morals and Society: Evaluation Exercises

These six, one-word questions are an excellent way to help you evaluate an information source:

Who?

Who wrote/created this information, and who are they in terms of this information and in this context? Who is this information for? Who benefits?

What?

What is the source? What format? What are the facts? What is covered, and what isn't? What is the main point? What conclusions does it provide? What evidence does it provide?

When?

When was this information gathered, posted, or published? Which "when" is the information about? Is that time period useful to you? Is it old enough or recent enough?

Where?

Where (a physical place or otherwise) was the information gathered, posted, or published? Which "where" is the information about?

Why?

Why does this information source exist? Why is it provided in this way?

How?

How was the information gathered or created? How was it analyzed? How is it presented?

Directions:

1. Make a copy of the Information Source Evaluation Worksheet (go.hawaii.edu/GyG)
2. Open the link below to your assigned information source.
3. Answer the questions in the Worksheet as best you can.
4. Share or print your worksheet as instructed

Note: You should NOT need to read very much of the item you are evaluating!  Read only as much as you need to answer the basic questions in the worksheet. You can tell a lot from a title, abstract or table of contents, first paragraph, bibliography, and publication information. A quick search of a name in Google Scholar or a library database can often tell you more. Sometimes, you just have to make an educated guess if you’re not certain.