Evaluating Sources for Reliability

Fill in the blank. Reliable sources need to be credible, trustworthy, and _______________.

Imagine that you are writing an informative paper about dogs. Which of these would be the best source of information?

• A blog about the dogs a woman rescues

• A social media page for the San Bernardino Humane Society

• An article in Dog World magazine by a dog show judge

• The Twitter account "We Rate Dogs"

When you determine the author's purpose, which one is most trustworthy?

• An author trying to inform

• An author trying to persuade

• An author trying to sell something

• An author trying to entertain

Why is it important to consider the author's bias?

• The author might not give you all the facts

• The author might not be qualified to write about the topic

• The author might be making a joke

• The author might be writing a blog post

How do you make sure that you are getting accurate information?

• Only choose .org and .gov websites

• Avoid all news websites, since they are sensational

• Look at several sources on the same topic to make sure the information is the same

If I wanted to learn about the Revolutionary War, which source would likely be reliable?

• My older brother's report on the Revolutionary War

• A journal from a Revolutionary War soldier

• A blog about visiting Revolutionary War battlefields

• A Yahoo Answers reply to another middle schooler's question

Which of the following most nearly means the same as objective?

• Not alive, inanimate

• Having strong beliefs

• Trying to persuade

• Not biased, truthful