The Mabee-Simpson Library: English: Information Literacy

Evaluating Sources of Information

Purdue OWL has created this great guide to help you learn how to evaluate potential sources of information. We've made it available for you here, in bite-sized chunks.

Evaluating Sources: Introduction
Evaluating sources means recognizing whether the information you read and include in your research is credible.
Where to Begin
It’s difficult to evaluate a source if you’re not sure where to begin. Before getting started, it’s important to establish what genre of research you need. Below is a breakdown of how sources are often separated. Once you recognize the differences in sources, it becomes easier to locate exactly what you need and evaluate whether the sources you find seem credible.
General Guidelines
Once you have an idea of the types of sources you need for your research, you can spend time evaluating individual sources.
Evaluating Bibliographic Citations
A bibliographic citation provides relevant information about the author and publication as well as a short summary of the text, usually known as the abstract. Depending on where you find your information, the bibliographic citation will vary.
Evaluating Digital Sources
Because so much information is now available online, it’s important to know how to navigate digital sources versus print sources. Today, almost every print source has a digital edition (e.g., ebooks, online newspapers), and some academic journals only publish digitally. However, despite the many credible digital sources available today, there are still many unreliable sources available on the internet. Below are some suggestions for evaluating digital texts and a breakdown of the different types of sources available online.
Evaluation During Reading
After you have asked yourself some questions about the source and determined that it's worth your time to find and read that source, you can evaluate the material in the source as you read through it.
Print vs. Internet Sources
With the advent of the Internet, we are seeing a massive influx of digital texts and sources. Understanding the difference between what you can find online and what you can find in more traditional print sources is key to evaluating your sources.

Other Information Literacy Resources

Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers
By Mike Caulfield, this eBook is a crash course in information literacy.
Information Literacy, Basic Research Skills
By Carol M. Withers, a 75 page manual on information literacy.
Information Literacy Concepts
A brief Open Textbook on information literacy.

Tools for Dealing with Information Literacy in the Age of AI

Lateral Reading
Lateral reading is done when you apply fact-checking techniques by leaving the AI output and consulting other sources to evaluate what the AI has provided based on your prompt.
Sorting Fact from Fiction
From Digital Inquiry Group

Some helpful videos:

Hours and Support

Semester Hours

Sunday: 4PM to Midnight
Monday - Thursday: 7:30 a.m. to Midnight
Friday: 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Saturday: Closed

Ask The Librarian

Off-Campus Access

How Do I Login?

When off-campus, if you are a Lyon College student, faculty, or staff member, you can use your Lyon user ID (first.last@lyon.edu) and your password to login when an authentication screen pops up during your use of a library database or other online service. You only have to do this once a session.

Community members who have purchased a card can use the databases in the library building but not remotely.

Having issues logging in? Clear your cache (CTRL + SHIFT + DEL) and try again.

If you have problems accessing the databases please call Lyon support at: 870-307-7555 or contact support@lyon.edu.