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Michigan State University

VM 150: Hospital Procedures & Communication

Information and resources for students in VM 150: Hospital Procedures & Communication. Last updated: 12/11/23.

Evaluating Sources

When evaluating the reliability of a resource it is important to look at it's authority, accuracy, scope, currency, bias, and style. The following questions can be used as a guide when examining each of these criteria:

 

Authority

  • Who is the author?
  • What is their experience and expertise?
  • What is their affiliation?
  • Can you tell what their purpose is for providing this information?

Accuracy

  • Are sources provided for facts and statistics?
  • Do the sources cited seem correct?
  • Are there spelling or grammatical errors?
  • Is the information in agreement with other sources?

Scope

  • Is the source considered scholarly or popular?
  • Is there a well-reasoned argument?
  • Is the information one-sided?

Currency

  • When was the information created?
  • Have there been any recent updates?
  • How recent are the cited sources?

Bias

  • Why was the resource created?
  • Who is the intended audience?
  • Does the author indicated any conflicts of interest?
  • Is the author trying to sway opinion or promote a product?

Style

  • Is the language clear and easy to understand?
  • Does the source appear professional looking?
  • If there are links, are they broken?
  • Are figures and illustrations easy to read?
  • Is the information well-organized?