Information Literacy Coaching Playbook: Evaluating Web Sources

In a Google world, becoming a good user of information is HARD!

We hope that our students graduate as good searchers and good "consumers" of information, but this is difficult if instruction is limited to 2 or 3 library visits every semester. Learning to search effectively and developing healthy evaluation instincts comes from hundreds of lessons, hints, tips, tricks, and "micro-lessons" delivered in your daily lessons and interactions that happen in the course of the amazing work that each of you does day in and day out.

As students are searching for sources with content needed for your work in class, challenge them not only on the content itself, but on the source. For example:

• Do you know if this author is qualified to write about this? 
• How do you know? 
• He's a professor at Columbia, but he teaches history. Why would we want to use his information about diabetes?

Roll over or click on the Thinglink points below for more information on things we should ask students to consider as they evaluate web sources.


Beyond the information included in a citation students should consider:

• Does the page look authoritative? (While it isn't everything, appearance matters, right?)
• Is the text well written and well edited?
• Is the site/source well organized?
• Does the page include links OUT to authoritative sites/sources on the content being covered?
• Does the language indicate a bias or specific orientation?
• Does the content seem/feel plausible based on the information learned from authoritative sources consulted earlier? (Does it pass the smell test?)
• Does the post/infographic/map/etc. include a works cited list?
• Does the works cited list include sources you have found to be reputable?
• Does the works cited list include the work of important people in the area of study?

This isn't intended to be an evaluation checklists. Our experience has shown that website evaluation checklists tend not to hold up particularly well in real world use. Our goal is simply to give you a few more tools as you help students use real-world information.

For us to create searching and source evaluation coaching opportunities, and to get the most out of those interactions:

• Require students to cite
• Consider requiring them to cite "at least X print or database sources" 

Instructionally, teaching kids to cite "because otherwise it's plagiarism" while technically correct, isn't exactly motivating to kids. Developing a habit of citation in many cases is primarily helpful because it reminds us to look for the kinds of information that helps us to know whether a source is worth using, serves as a pathway for your audience to locate sources you used for further study of their own, and helps to build YOUR credibility with your audience.