Website Evaluation Don’t Listen to the “Village Idiot”

Is a website created by this individual a reliable source of research? True story… A group of students submitted an American Revolution project based on a website grade 5 students created.

Definition: 1.capable of being believed; believable: a credible statement. 2.worthy of belief or confidence; trustworthy: a credible witness. Credibility is important! ▫If your research is flawed, so is your argument. ▫If you use credible sources, you can believe them, and your readers can believe you. Word of the Day: Credibility

 Most books you find in library nonfiction are credible.  Most large newspapers are credible. ◦ Vancouver Sun ◦ The Province ◦ Squamish Chief  Scholarly journals are usually credible. ◦ JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association)  Most government publications are credible.  Reputable organizations are usually credible. ◦ Canadian Cancer Society ◦ World Health Organization ◦ Canadian Red Cross  Most information from colleges is credible.  Information from a database is usually credible.  Ebsco or Gale, found on the library website. How do I know if my sources are credible?

You can automatically rule out: ▫Wikipedia ▫Instagram ▫Blogs ▫Twitter ▫Personal sites (Facebook) How do I know if my sources are credible?

The internet offers the BEST information on MANY topics. The internet offers the WORST information on MOST topics. Using the Internet for Research

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 are also credible Credible Internet Sources

▫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 1991 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 Credible Internet Sources

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 Companies can pay Google to have their website within the top 10 hits. 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 Credible Internet Sources

 Is much easier to spot than it used to be  Could make you ineligible for scholarships in Grade 12  Could get you expelled from a university or college  Doesn’t take very long for a teacher to check ◦ A teacher can type 10 words of your paper into a search engine, and within seconds, compare it to tens of thousands of other papers that have already been written  Is easy to avoid ◦ EasyBib ◦ MLA Notetaking Sheets Plagiarism

Credibility in ACTION This one?Or this one? Republic of Molossia Elephant Butte Velcro Companies California’s Velcro /velcro.html Dog Island Doggie Playland

Using Easy Bib-

Easy Bib to create a Works Cited Book entries should look like…

Easy Bib to Create a Works Cited Website entries should look like…

Your Works Cited should look like this! NOT- A LIST OF WEBSITE LINKS!!!!