As we saw on the last page, there is so much critical thinking that goes into making these everyday decisions. It’s our money, time, and energy (and in the previous case, stomach!) that we’re putting on the line and we tend to be more critical when we are invested in the situation.

Things to Consider

When we were selecting a restaurant, we considered different aspects and qualities of information, all of which are important to keep in mind no matter what kind of information problem you are trying to solve.

Below are some key qualities to consider when evaluating information:

Accuracy - you want information that you can reasonably assume is true.
Timeliness - you want information that is still applicable and not out of date, or that offers a historical perspective.
Relevance -Your information should be about your topic or answer your question.
Subjectivity or bias - Most information has a point-of-view. Be sure you know what it is and acknowledge it.
Conversation & Consensus - Consider what people are saying about a topic and if there is a general agreement.
Specialized Resources - Different types of information specialize in different topics or coverage of topics.

Author, Audience, and Purpose

In addition to the qualities of information we just discussed, it's always helpful to consider the author, intended audience, and purpose of an information source.

Author

A source's author could be the writer, creator, artist, or publisher; basically whatever person or entity put the information out into the world. Knowing more about an author/creator can help you decide whether or not they know about the topic, whether they have a point-of-view, and what their history or relationship is with the source material.

Intended Audience

It can be helpful to examine the qualities of an information source to determine for whom it was created. Who did the author have in mind when they created this source? What makes you think that? You can usually tell this from the style of writing, the way the information is presented, and where you found it / how it was accessed.

Purpose

Getting to know the author and intended audience of an information source can help you determine its purpose (e.g. to get clicks or likes; to evoke an emotion; to change your perspective; to share research). This will help you determine how to best use the source in your writing or assignment (or whether to use it at all).

All of these considerations are things you can keep in mind when deciding on information to use for more academic situations like research projects, papers, or presentations. Let’s look at a more academic information problem.