Evaluating Credibility
📋 What it is
Judge a source by its author’s expertise, its evidence, its purpose, and whether other sources agree.
🗣️ Coach says
Never trust a source just because it’s first on the list. Check: WHO wrote it (expertise), do they SHOW evidence, WHY was it made (to inform or to sell?), and does it AGREE with others. Confident ≠ correct.
🧠 Memory hook
Author · Evidence · Purpose · Agreement. Confident isn’t correct.
😂 Giggle
Why was the bibliography always invited to parties?
It had the best references!
😲 Whoa!
A trick to check a website: look for its "About" page and author — anonymous pages are a red flag.
✅ Quick check: Name two things to check before trusting a source you found online.
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
The author’s expertise, whether it shows real evidence, its purpose (inform vs sell), and whether other sources agree (any two).
Evaluating credibility is the survival skill of research.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Find a source and check its author and purpose — is it trying to inform or to sell?