Credibility

Matters
Kristian Markus, Kristina Vasquez,
Rudy Sanchez, Vicky Tucker, and
Allison Frenzel
 Table of Contents
Module 1: Module 2: Module 3:
Three Types Of Sources Content and Reliability Verify Sources Using CARS

Test Your Knowledge [4] Authorship, Date, and What is C.A.R.S? [18]
Organization [14]
Primary [6] Credibility [19]
Authorship, Date, and
Primary [7] Organization [15] Accuracy [20]

Secondary [8] Relevance [21]

Secondary [9] Support [22]

Tertiary [10] Fake News [23]

Tertiary [11]

Final Assessment [25]

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 Module 1:
Three Types of Sources

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Test Your Knowledge: How well do you know your sources?
Directions: Match the image to the correct source type

Source Image

Primary Source

Secondary Source

Tertiary Source
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 Testing Your Knowledge: How well did you do?

Source Image

Primary Source Personal Score:

____/__3__
Secondary Source

Tertiary Source

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 What are Primary Sources?
1. Direct or firsthand evidence about an
event, object, person, or work of art.

2. The original materials that enable students

and other researchers to get as close as
possible to what actually happened during
a particular event or time period.

3. The individual viewpoint of a participant or

observer.

Video Courtesy of UC Libraries

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 Examples of Primary Sources
Autobiographies Eyewitness Accounts Recorded or Original Works: Poems,
Diaries Interviews Transcribed Artwork, Music, Photographs,
Speeches Film Footage, Letters

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 What are Secondary Sources?
Secondary sources are artifacts or texts
which:

1. Describe, discuss, interpret, comment

upon, analyze, evaluate, summarize, and
process primary sources.

2. Provide commentary that is written or

produced after the fact with the benefit
of hindsight.

3. Collect, organize, or repackage primary

source information to increase usability
and speed of delivery, such as an online Video Courtesy of Open.edu/youtube
encyclopedia. 8
 Examples of Secondary Sources
Newspaper Articles Biographies Reviews Textbooks
Historical Books

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 What are Tertiary Sources?
Tertiary sources provide overviews of
topics by combining information
gathered from other resources and:

1. Include collections from both primary

and/or secondary sources to
summarize and consolidate the source
information into an overview.
2. Have little to no commentary on the
works themselves.
3. Include tools that make searching
specific topics simple.
Video courtesy of Jessup Library
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 Examples of Tertiary Sources
Dictionaries Encyclopedias Handbooks

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 Check for
Understanding
Click the image to the right to begin.

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 Module 2:
Content and Reliability

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 Verifying authorship, date, and organization
1. Author
Be aware of the authors background (economic status, religion, political
Credibility views, level of education, etc.).

Analyze the authors purpose and if the work has any bias.

Assess the authors work to determine if the information is accurate by

checking the authors citations.

2. Date If the date of the source is the same as the event, then its a primary
source.

If the source was written after the event happened, then its a secondary
source.

The time period also influences how the author views a certain topic.

3. Verifying the
Who runs the organization? Is it for profit or non-profit?
Organization
What is the reputation of the organization?
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 Verifying authorship, date, and organization

Publisher

Title

Author

Date 15
 Check for
Understanding
Click the image to the right to begin.

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 Module 3:
Using C.A.R.S. to Verify Sources

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What is C.A.R.S?
An acronym that stands for:

Credibility
Accuracy
Relevance
Support
A checklist used to evaluate all types
of sources to verify their credibility.

Allows readers to separate high-quality

information from the poor-quality Video courtesy of Western University
information.
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 Credibility
What is the author/speakers background?

Can you verify their major works, credentials,

and experience within the field?

Consider the Ted Talk to the right. What

makes the speaker qualified to speak on the
topic of a black hole?

If you answered with the following, you are

on the right track:

She is a Ph.D. candidate in the Computer Science

and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory; She received a
B.S.E. in Electrical Engineering; She was chosen by
the TED community.
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Accuracy
Is information is correct,
up-to-date, factual, detailed,
exact, and comprehensive?
Is it a satire ?

Does it present false

information for comedic,
malicious, or persuasive
purposes?

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Relevance
Is the information from the
source biased or objective ?

Why Is the content from the

source significant and how is it
related to the topic?

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Support
Does the source have:
Reliable references?

Citations?

Authors information
and/or contact?

Accurate evidence?

Well-supported claims?

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Always
Think
Critically
About Your
Sources

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 Check for
Understanding
Click the image to the right to begin.

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Final Assessment
Congratulations, You Made It!
Now, lets see what you remember.
Directions:
On a separate sheet of paper, write down a
step-by-step process on how to identify
credible sources. You can use a checklist, your
own outline, or a thinking map (flow chart,
brace map, or tree map)
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