Authority

• Who is the author (may be individual or organization) and/or publisher?
• What are the credentials and affiliation or sponsorship of any named individuals or organizations?
• How objective, reliable, and authoritative are they?
• Have they written other articles or books?
• Is/Are the author(s) listed with contact information (street address, e-mail)?
• Do they specialize in publishing certain topics or fields?

Purpose/Point of view of source 

• Does the author have an agenda beyond education or information?
• Are any conclusions offered? If so, based on what evidence and supported by what primary and secondary documentation?
• What is implied by the content?
• Are diverse perspectives represented?
• Is the content relevant to your information needs?
• Why was the information provided by the source published?
• Who is the intended audience?
• Is anything being sold?

• Does the publisher have an agenda?
• When was the information published?
• Is the information provided by the source in its original form or has it been revised to reflect changes in knowledge?
• Has the publisher published other works?
• Is this information timely and is it updated regularly?
• Is the publisher scholarly (university press, scholarly associations)? Commercial? Government agency? Self (“vanity”) press?

• Where else can the information provided by the source be found?
• Is this information authentic?
• Is this information unique or has it been copied?

• Is this information current? Can you find more current or relevant information?
• Is the cited information current? Make sure work is not based on outdated research, statistics, data, etc.
• Is the information routinely updated?