Criteria
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Questions to Ask
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Authority
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Who (person, organization, company) created the source?
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What are their credentials/affiliation or experience that qualify them on this topic?
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What editorial process was used to disseminate this resource? Peer review? Journalism?
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If a website, does the URL provide insight? Examples .gov, .edu, .com, .org, .net
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Currency
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Does your topic require current information? If so, when was the source written and published?
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Has the information been revised or updated recently?
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Truth
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How accurate is the information? Can you verify the claims in other resources?
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Has the information been reviewed? Is there a bibliography?
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What type of evidence is used to support claims or arguments?
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Unbiased
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Is the information presented to impact your emotions or your reason?
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Is the purpose to sell? To teach? To persuade? To entertain?
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Does the point of view appear objective or unbiased?
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Privilege
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Check the privilege of the author(s). Who is missing from the conversation?
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Critically evaluate the subject terms associated with each resource you find. How are they described? What are the inherent biases?
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What is the purpose of the publication? To sell, teach, persuade or entertain?
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