Definition

Information is described as “good information” when the following seven criteria are true.

1. Super-Useful: The information is useful or valuable.

2. True: The objective statements in the information have a high probability of being true. That is, there are few or no factual errors. An objective statement is true if it corresponds with reality.

3. Accurate: The information paints an accurate view of reality. Note that information can be true but highly misleading because only selected facts are presented.

4. Complete: The information is complete. There are not major pieces of information missing.

5. Easy to Understand: The information is easy to understand by the target audience.

6. Well Organized: Easy to see how the information is organized. Easy to find answers to question.

7. Justified: The information has been justified or proven to be true by using methods that are accepted by the consensus of people who make up the most appropriate professional communities.

How to Get High Quality Sources

1. With respect to your topic, figure out the community that is most knowledgeable about this topic. Examples:

   1. If the topic involves plumbing, the most relevant community is licensed plumbers and people who teach licensed plumbers.

   2. If the topic involves vaccines as in the Covid 19 vaccine, the most relevant community is people who have studied vacines and published their findings for many years.

2. Figure out the consensus of the most relevant community and look for sources that present this consensus. Or, if there is not a consensus looks for sources that describe the main trains of thought.

Once you have found a few high quality sources, use their citations to identify other high quality sources.

Avoid unknown sources or sources with potential bias unless these sources present information that aligns with the consensus of the most appropriate professional community.