Quality

Whether using a book, a scholarly article, or a Web site, it is important to use the following criteria to critically evaluate the information you locate:

Currency | Authority | Purpose | Point of view

When determining the information is biased, ask yourself:

Is the information factual or is it an interpretation of facts?
Can the information found in one source be verified elsewhere?
Does the publisher represent a religious/political/interest group?
Has the information been filtered by a editor/publisher?
Are various points of view represented equally?

Example

Your topic is the legalization of marijuana. Some of the information you find may be biased:

Web sites, in many cases, will present only one side of the issue and the statistics, facts, and arguments should be verified in other sources.
Newspaper and magazine articles may be reporting information representing both sides of the issue but journalists or reporters are not necessarily considered experts in the field
Scholarly articles, often reporting on research, may represent only one aspect of an issue