ProQuest Research Companion: Evaluate Information

This guide explains how to create a free account, and how to track and report progress in ProQuest Research Companion, a database that offers online information literacy tutorials.

Phase 2 - Evaluate Information

Phase 2 contains two units:

How do I evaluate sources?
What counts as evidence?

The Source Evaluation Aid provides explanation of URL domain names of any given website.

How do I evaluate sources?

Evaluation (0:45)
Identifying source types (2:12)
Primary and secondary sources (2:20)
TELL ME MORE: Primary and secondary sources (1:10)
Peer review (1:59)
TELL ME MORE: Peer review (1:55)
Scholarly journals (2:36)
Scholarly books (1:45)
Non-scholarly periodicals (2:25)
Non-scholarly books (1:11)
Websites (2:46)
TELL ME MORE: Websites (2:51)
Publications from governments, international organizations, and NGOs (2:48)
Social media (1:10)

What counts as evidence?

What information will prove your claim? (1:09)
Confusing "evidence of" with "consistent with" (1:49)
Confusing feelings of certainty with evidence (2:30)
TELL ME MORE: Confusing feelings of certainty with evidence (2:26)
Confusing anecdotes with evidence (2:07)
Finding evidence (0:37)
Expert testimony as evidence (1:57)
TELL ME MORE: Expert testimony as evidence (2:04)
Statistics as evidence (2:26)
TELL ME MORE: Statistics as evidence (2:39)
Scientific studies as evidence (2:43)
TELL ME MORE: Scientific studies as evidence (1:05)
Matching data to claims (0:47)