Skip to Main Content
Hagerstown Community College
← Back to HCC Main Site

Dental Hygiene & Dental Assisting Resource Guide: Evaluating Sources

Resources to assist Allied Dental Health students and faculty with research and professional information needs.

Evaluating Sources

Why Evaluate Sources?

It is always important to evaluate the information you find to be sure it is appropriate for your need.  In a college setting, this means evaluating whether or not a resource is appropriate for academic use.  

As always, if you have questions, feel free to contact a librarian for assistance!

a frowny face, a neutral expression, and a smiley face under a magnifying glass

Evaluate with the 5 Ws

Hagerstown Community College uses the 5 Ws to help you remember important questions you should ask yourself when reviewing any information source.  

  • Who: Who is the author and is there evidence of their expertise?
  • What:  What is the purpose of the source? What is the bias?
  • When: When was the source published?
  • Where: Where did the author get the information, and are the sources cited correctly?
  • Why: Why is this source better (or worse) than another for this particular information need?

Evaluating Resources Tutorial

The tips provided in this video tutorial use several different approaches and are designed to assist Internet researchers to determine whether the information encountered on websites is reliable.

Contact Us

Home Page


Library website

Chat

Writing & Research - click to chat

STEM Subjects Help - click to chat

Special Hours & Closures
Reduced Hours 8:00-4:30
  • March 10-13
Campus Closed
  • March 14
Regular Hours

M-Th: 8 am - 6 pm
Fri: 8 am - 4:30 pm
Weekends: Closed

Library Information Desk

 LRC-200
 240-500-2237
 301-393-3681
 library@hagerstowncc.edu
 hagerstowncc.edu/library

MD Voter Registration     Public Disclosure     Privacy Policy     Terms of Use