Source Evaluation Practice

Joey found an eyewitness story from a 10 year old who witnessed the building of Saint Louis arch and wants to use it in his paper. Would this be a good source?

• Yes- you can always trust an eyewitness!

• Yes- primary sources are always better than secondary.

• No- he is just a kid, there might be better sources out there

• Who cares, he found it so use it.

Which of the following is NOT one of the ways to evaluate a source?

• Currancy

• Credibility

• Author

• Accuracy

• Purpose

David found some good facts from History.com and is wondering if he could use it as a reliable source for his paper. What would be your response to him?

• No- you can never trust anything from a .com website

• No- History.com does not have an author so you cannot use them

• Yes- it's online so it must be true

• Yes- History.com is a reliable source and is backed by many other large and reliable companies

Which of the following would be considered a RELIABLE source? (Check all the apply)

• Gatesfoundation.org

• Reddit.com

• theonion.com

• usa.gov

• the CDC (Center for Disease Control)

Why can you not use "Google" as a reliable source?

• Because Google is a search engine and not a source

• Google is a collection of websites- they do not give their own answers

• Any fact found on Google comes from one of their sources/websites

• All of the above are true

Which of the following would be the LEAST credible.

• An article written by a college student

• A tabloid found in the supermarket

• A blog written on Reddit by a first-hand account

• A website written with no author or sources posted

What is the FIRST thing you should do when evaluate a source.

• Check the author and date published

• Check to see if there are cited sources

• Check to see if the source is relevant to your topic at hand

• Check the url

What do you look at to evaluate the ACCURACY of a source?

• Check the facts- make sure they are correct and can be found on another source

• Check the spelling

• Check the grammar

• All of the above

Which of the following is NOT important when checking the author's credientials

• Where they live

• If they are a primary/secondary source

• What education they have in the area of the field they are writing about

• Do they have other published pieces

Which of the following is not a PURPOSE of writing

• To entertain

• To persuade

• To inform

• To mock/ridicule

• Honestly, anything can be a real purpose of writing