But is it Credible? Mr. Kroesch 2016

Definition 1.capable of being believed; believable: a credible statement. 2.worthy of belief or confidence; trustworthy: a credible witness.

Why Do We Care? If your research is flawed, your argument is as well. You can not use bad information to make your point Using bad info makes the audience unlikely to believe any point you might be trying to make

Some Basics Most Non-Fiction books found in the library are credible as long as they are recent Most major newspapers are credible sources Academic Journals are almost always credible Organization (.org) and Government (.gov) websites are mostly credible College websites (.edu) are usually credible

Some Basics (Continued) You can automatically rule out using: Wikis (including wikipedia) Personal websites Blogs Social Media Pages (Facebook, Twitter, Reddit) Basically anything done by the History Channel

Rule of the Internet You can find anything possible online; this makes it both the best and worst source possible. ANYTHING you find online MUST be checked for credibility. This might mean finding additional sources to confirm your information

Internet Credibility (Made Easy) Ways to tell a credible internet source: Looks professional The website doesn’t look like it was made by a 4-year-old with a crayon All or most links are working Information offered is easy to verify The website offers links to where they found their information The sources of their information is also credible

Internet Credibility (Made Easy) It is easy to contact the owners of the website for more information or to ask questions The site is up to date Information from 2010 or before is not listed as “recent” There are no errors The site uses proper spelling and grammar The website is appropriate There is no inappropriate language, graphics, or photos

Internet Credibility (Made Easy) These guidelines are not 100% When in doubt, ask for help from a teacher or librarian If you’re still not sure, DON’T use it Be careful with .com sites All .com sites are trying to sell something, which means they are all biased in some way Sites with lots of advertisements are usually less credible Sites listed as “SPONSORED CONTENT”