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Accuracy & Credibility Assessment

REMEMBER TO CHECK THE SOURCE’S CREDIBILITY. Here are some tips:

1. How did you find it?

• If it was recommended by your teacher librarian and included on the Pathfinder, you can trust that it is a reliable resource.
• Did you use EasyBib to find the resource? Did EasyBib give it a GREEN light?
• Did you use Sweet Search to find the resource? (these have been vetted by educators)
• Did you just do a Google Search? (proceed to the next steps)

2. Is the site reputable?

• .edu means this is affiliated with a university (good source)
• .gov means this is a federal government site (good source)
• .org means it is an advocacy or non-profit site (might be good, but might have an agenda/bias)
• Is the author(s) listed? Are the author’s credentials included? Are her/his credentials relevant to the information being presented?
• Does the site have a list of resources or bibliography?
• What is the site’s objective? Is the site trying to sell you something or convince you of something? (it may be biased)

3. Is the site and information current?

• Is there a date of copyright and is it recent, or was it updated recently?
• Are the links current and functional?

Sources for evaluation criteria:

Avery, Susan. “Evaluating Internet Sources.” University Library. University of Illinois, 29 Aug. 2012. Web. 09 Dec. 2013. <http://www.library.illinois.edu/ugl/howdoi/webeval.html>.

“Evaluating Information: Applying the CRAAP Test.” California State University, Chico, 2010. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. <http://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/eval_websites.pdf>.

“Evaluating Sources Overview.” Purdue OWL. Purdue University, 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. <https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/553/01/>.

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