Source Evaluation Checklist
Use this checklist which is adapted from the Cornell Digital Literacy Resource to evaluate the information sources you discover as a result of performing a search. Check the items in each of the following categories:
Purpose
• What is the purpose or motivation for the source? (E.g., educational, commercial, entertainment, or promotional.)
• Is it trying to sell you something? How easy is it to differentiate advertisement from content in the source?
• Based on your knowledge, is the information fact, opinion, or propaganda?
• Who is the intended audience for the information, and how is this fact reflected in the organization and presentation of the material?
Authority
• Is the author identifiable?
• What is the author's background? (E.g., experience, credentials, and occupation, and has he or she published anything else on the topic?)
• Does the author cite his or her sources?
Currency
• When was the resource last updated or revised, and how often is it updated?
Reliability
How stable does the resource seem to be? The resource’s dependability (particularly in the case of Web sites) is important if it is going to be cited as a source or recommended for use by others.
• For Web sites, do most of the links on the page work?
• From your evaluation of currency and authority, do you think the resource will be there the next time you visit it?
Coverage
• What information is included or omitted?
• Is the resource completed or under construction?
These are not the only criteria you will need to look at. Depending on what your professor has asked you for and on your research needs, you may need to look for certain kinds of material. In academic research in particular, your professor may ask you to find scholarly, peer-reviewed, or primary sources.
"The global refugee crisis is the geopolitical debate of today. In the latest Munk Debate, Human Rights Commissioner Louise Arbour and historian Simon Schama argue in favour of the resolution"Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." While Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party and author Mark Steyn argue against."
Bonus articles/videos - These may prove useful later!!! (Perhaps some nice emotional appeal for your intro or conclusion?)
Individual immigration stories from The Guardian.
A documentary from The Guardian (20 minutes) following three refugees’ journeys from Turkey to Europe. January 2014.
Transcript of a Ted Talk “ Our refugee system is failing. Here’s how we can fix it.” March 2016.
Europe
Women and children refugees
We have to listen to women refugees, Saba Vasefi
Refugee children without family in the Calais camp, the Guardian
Personal stories (for ethos and pathos?)
Immigrants in their own words: 100 stories written by immigrants to the UK
A year later. Interviews with Syrian refugees who fled in the summer of 2015, the Guardian
Germany
Turkey - EU refugee agreement ,Der Spiegel
The AfD and refugees , the DW Akademie
A plea for measured debate ,Der Spiegel
Von Geburt an Multikulturalist , ueber Migranten, die Zeit online
Daily Mail about the anti-immigration party
Armutsfluechtlinge sind eine Minderheit, die Welt
Fakten zur Fluechtlingskrise, der Spiegel
UK
UKIP policy explained from The Telegraph
Real figures vs the headlines, 2014, The Guardian
Migration statistics 2015, Office for National Statistics
Syrian refugee crisis underestimated by the public, the Guardian
Nine of the most surprising facts about immigration, The Huffington Post
Italy
Data sea arrivals from the UNHCR
Radio program about Lampedusa, diving for the dead
Migrants stories crossing the Mediterranean, the Guardian
I was a Lampedusa refugee, a personal story, the Guardian
Malta, refugees dying at Europe’s doorstep, UNHCR videoclip (Dec 2014)
Libya’s people smugglers, the Guardian
Greece
Data sea arrivals from the UNHCR
After the Greece- Turkey refugee agreement, chaotic scenes when people are forced to return to Turkey, the Guardian
Macedonia returns refugees to Greece, the Guardian
Athens under pressure, clearing the refugees before the tourists arrive, the Guardian
From Eritrea to Greece, a book review
Pope Francis on Lesbos, BBC news
Switzerland
Statistics (in German), official figures
Fewer immigrants to Switzerland, Figures for the first quarter of 2016, the Tages Anzeiger (in German)
How border guards deal with immigrants to Switzerland, The Tages Anzeiger (in German)
Swiss voters reject plans to deport foreign offenders, BBC
Austria
How Vienna is trying to cope with the influx of refugees, the Guardian
Austrian border plan, the Guardian
Belgium
Data, from the Belgian government
Belgium spooked by refugee situation, NBC news
Resettlement of refugees in Belgium, UNHCR
Belgium turns back refugees, news.com
Finland
Australia
The Australian refugees on Manus in Papua New Guinea, the Guardian
Video, coming to Australia as a refugee, the Guardian
New York Times attacks Australia’s immigration policy, The Australian
We appreciate our immigrants, if they earn it, The Australian
A nation for refugees?, news.com.au
Who are the illegal immigrants? Mainly Brits and Americans, news.com.au
Ten myths around asylum seekers, The Australian
Jordan
Syrian refugees: Invisible refugees; about the ones who are not in camps, the Guardian
US
Statistics for the US, Migration Policy Institute
Immigrants on farms in North Carolina, why the US needs immigrants, Al Jazeera
Donald Trump’s 5 point plan against illegal immigration, The Political Insider
Donald Trump’s warnings for Europe, the Telegraph
How we see immigration and why we’re wrong, Time magazine
