Evaluating Information Sources

this is the Australian National University library and this is what you need to know about evaluating information sources with all the information out there it can be really overwhelming working out which sources you should cite in your research so how do you determine what is a quality source and what is well not that's where the trap test comes in yes trap t are a a pay think of it as a helpful acronym to take the stress out of choosing whether or not decide a source in your research you need to know whether or not it's

a trap it stands for five things to look at when assessing a source timeliness relevance authority accuracy and purpose timeliness is simple the newness of the information the data was created published or last updated questions to think about around timeliness when was it originally created is the information up to date or has it since been refuted is it current enough for your topic the next one is relevance sources that you cite should be relevant to your topic and pitched at an appropriate level questions to think about around relevance is it an in-depth explanation or a

quick summary is the language appropriate to your level not too basic or advanced is the information part of a more comprehensive source that might be more appropriate for your research then Authority essentially who wrote and published the resource checking the credentials of the author and publisher give you a pretty good insight into the quality of a source questions to think about around authority who is the author and are their qualifications relevant to the topic they're writing about has the author provided substantial evidence to back up their information what about the URL this can tell you

a lot about an information source gov dot a you indicates it is from the Australian government while dotnet is way harder to verify the next a is accuracy this is where you work out if the information in the resource is in fact legitimate questions to think about around accuracy can you verify the information by checking at least two other sources is there any evidence of peer review does the language seem unbiased and objective does the author acknowledge the limitations of their research which brings us to the final criteria purpose think about why the resource was

written in the first place looking beyond the source itself will give you a better understanding some questions to think about around purpose is the information written on behalf of a lobby group corporation political group or religious order read the about us section to find out more about the author funding body or publisher and really think about why and how the resource was funded if it's a website does it have advertising that can be a big red flag does the source use inflammatory language images or graphic styles that seem intended to persuade or inflame instead of

inform so if you think a source might be a trap or if you just want to be certain you were quoting top quality resources remember the trap test timeliness relevance authority accuracy and purpose your lecturer will thank you and if you still feel uncertain it is probably best to find another source or better yet come in and ask a librarian