IDENTIFYING CREDIBLE SOURCES ONLINE Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/freepress/6641427981 A Melbourne Athenaeum Library Cybersafety Information Guide Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/freepress/6641427981

What are credible sources? The internet can be a useful tool when trying to source information for private or scholarly pursuits. However, because so many people have the ability to publish content on the internet, caution is required before using a site or citing it as a reliable, credible source. The ability to identify the credibility of a site or article is known as critical literacy. Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/7815007@N07/14828733169 Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/7815007@N07/14828733169

Types of websites Every website ends in a Top Level Domain (often shortened to TLD) which tells you the type of website you’re looking at. .com = commercial .edu = educational .gov = government .net = network or alternative to .com .org = not-for-profit .com (or .co.uk for sites in the UK) sites can be used by any person, business, or other entity, which means .com sites may require more evaluation than other sites. .edu sites are likely to have articles written by academics so these websites are a more reliable online resource than commercial sites. These sites will usually indicate which articles are peer reviewed and present author and publishing information to make them easier to reference. .org was originally intended to be used by non-profit organisations, but any organisation or individual can register a .org address. On a .org site, content is likely to have a bias towards that particular organisation’s mission or goals. .gov indicates a government website. If looking for reliable information about government policy, tax codes, or a political office, these sites are a great place to start. .net websites can be registered by any organisation or individual and are similar to .org websites.

Geographic Top Level Domains There are also two letter TLDs designated to particular countries, Australia’s is ‘.au’ and is managed by auDA, a not-for-profit organisation which licenses its use. Although many countries have similar systems in place, there are many without so be careful when the TLD is one you don’t recognise. TLDs can also give you an indication of where an email has come from which can help in identifying scams and the like. Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:.au_Domain_Administration_(logo).svg Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:.au_Domain_Administration_(logo).svg

Fake news Fake news, sometimes referred to as hoax news, is where individuals or organisations intentionally publish hoaxes, propaganda and other misinformation and present it as factual. This can include blog and social media posts and fake online media releases. It does not include news satire sites such as The Onion or The Shovel as they are not presenting their content as legitimate factual news. Their intention is satire rather than misinformation. It also does not include articles that are written from the perspective of a particular opinion or editorial standpoint, provided the information included is factually correct.

How to recognise fake news Read past the headline – Many fake news creators don’t put much effort into content beyond the headline as that is all many people will read before they share it. Check who originally published it – See who the original source of the story is. If you don’t recognise it use a search engine to find out more about it. Follow links and check sources – Just because the article claims that something is a quote or a particular site verifies information doesn’t mean they do. Beware confirmation bias – We are more likely to believe something that reinforces our pre-conceived ideas. Don’t assume something is true because you want it to be. Check other news outlets – Is anyone else reporting this? If you can’t find a major story anywhere else it probably isn’t true. Think before you share – Fake news relies on many people sharing unverified information to get traction so if you aren’t sure if something is real news or not, don’t share it. Image source: https://pixabay.com/p-155687/?no_redirect Image source: https://pixabay.com/p-155687/?no_redirect

Fact checking The only way to be sure that news is accurate is to check whether the facts they give are correct. Although this would be a difficult task for a single person, there are plenty of groups dedicated to checking this. Snopes is a fact-checking website that looks at the legitimacy of online and offline news. www.snopes.com/

Scholarly information When using material for academic purposes, it is even more important to make sure information is current, factually correct and, as much as possible, peer reviewed. While many of the same principles apply to verifying scholarly information as new, there are ways to check the veracity of scholarly and peer reviewed information that aren’t otherwise available. To evaluate the author of an article, site or publication it is a good idea to check their credentials. What are their qualifications and/or credentials? What else have they published? Has their work been cited by others? What was the purpose of the author in publishing this? Image source: http://xkcd.com/285/

Evaluating scholarly content Evaluate the content of articles using the following criteria: factual, detailed, correct, and comprehensive. Is it credible, probable, or possible? Is a reference list or bibliography included? Can the information be verified by research, statistics, or studies? Can you find two other sources that confirm the information? It is also important to use articles which are as current as possible. Look at the date of an article as well as the dates attached to studies and resources within an article. When was the article published? When are studies and resources cited in the article dated? Be aware of what is considered current for the particular field. Generally, if primary references are more than 10 years old you should be cautious about using this information. Another good indication that an article may be outdated is broken or ‘dead’ links. If the links don’t go anywhere chances are the article is old. The creator of a legitimate website will take the time to keep links up to date.

Evaluating scholarly content The publication the article appears in is also important to consider. What field or fields are usually covered by the publication and how does the article relate to that? Is it a peer-reviewed publication? Who is the intended audience of the publication and what effect is that likely to have on the content? Does an institution or ‘parent organisation’ support or endorse the publication? Finally, it is important to be aware of potential bias about the information which can come from: The author of the article. The editor of the publication. The institution associated. You as the reader.

If in doubt about your source Check the library at your educational institution The internet is a great source of information, but when accuracy counts, the library is still one of the best places to do research. Libraries have access to research databases, many of which require a subscription and aren’t available through traditional search engines. These databases allow you to search for articles in print and online journals and books. Since many of these resources are peer reviewed, the information you find in them is not only written by professionals, but has been reviewed and approved by other professionals within their field. Double-check it against other sources, no matter where you find information. Perform additional online research and/or checking some print publications at the library. If you find the same information on several other legitimate websites as well as in a print publication, it increases the odds that the information is accurate.

Thank you Thank you for taking the time to read this guide. If you have any further queries please don’t hesitate to ask library staff. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.