Topic  2- Sources of information

You have been warned so many times from your teachers to give your source of information while dealing with a subject. Do you know what it is about?

When we refer to ‘source’, we are simply referring to the origin of the information. This is an important concept, as it provides valuable information about the reliability of an article or a document or a video

How to analyse and evaluate the source of information?

• CHECK these fours elements: SOURCE, OBJECTIVE, DATE, AUTHOR = S.O.D.A.

1. Focus on the author : learn more about the author

Who is he/she? What are his/her areas of competencies? Does he/she speak on behalf of an organisation or in its own name?

What about the sources or other authors mentioned in the documents: sources are precise? reachable?

2. Identify the source : check the « legal mentions » or the « about us» sections on the website you chose

What is the nature of the website (commercial, institutional), decrypt the url address

3. Evaluate the objective of this information

Pay particular attention whether it is a commercial website, a social network or a personal blog. If so, you’d better check the information twice before using it.

4. Look for the date of the information

This piece of advice doesn’t mean that information from 10 years ago is not reliable or out of the question. It only means that you have to be pretty aware of the fact that the data or the information you are about to use is not recent or should be updated.

5. Finally, cross and compare your information by consulting several sources of information.