In today's information age, it has never been faster or easier to do research. It has also never been more important to be able to evaluate sources for credibility (Morgan, 2016) As a 21st century...

In today's information age, it has never been faster or easier to do research. It has also never been more important to be able to evaluate sources for credibility(Morgan, 2016)

As a 21st century learner working in a digital environment, this is an issue you will need to deal with on an almost daily basis. The strength of your academic (and professional) writing is greatly determined by the credibility of the sources you use to support your arguments and ideas in that writing. So, locating relevant and reliable information in print or electronic formats is just the first step in your research journey. The next step is for you to evaluate the quality of the information that you have found. You can know if a source is credible by asking a series of questions like the following:

• Who is the writer?


• How contemporary or up-to-date is the source?


• What is the writer's purpose or point of view?


• What sources does the writer cite to support their point of view? Are they relevant and credible?


• What kinds of sources do your readers expect to see you use?


• Where was the source published or posted?

Related learning outcomes

This assignment contributes to achievement of the following learning outcomes:

1. explore, use and evaluate information online to develop research and communications skills

3. construct and publish knowledge in the online environment.