The previous sections of this tutorial have concentrated on finding information but that isn't the end of the story, you also need to be able to judge how relevant it is. Recent research has found that some students struggle with this:

"Young people tend to use search engines such as Google and Yahoo as their first, and often only, port of call in searching for information. They have a poor understanding of their information needs and find it difficult to develop effective search strategies. They also spend little time evaluating information for relevance, accuracy or authority."

Gilbert, N. (2008) Intellectual literacy hour. Guardian. 15th January. [Online] Available at:
http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/research/story/0,,2240564,00.html (accessed 24th November 2008)

Activity : Here is an exercise to test your critical thinking skills.