1. Warm Up 4/25/2016
BRAINSTORM:
How do you know if a website is reliable or not?
(think of some ideas of what might hint
that a website is or is not
reliable/accurate/trustworthy)

2. Evaluating Sources Primary and Secondary Sources
R.I. 7.6, 7.8, R.W. 7.8
R.H
Primary and Secondary Sources
Evaluating Internet Sources
How can you tell if you should use a source?

3. What are some types of SOURCES?
Speech
Biography
Photo
Poem
Historical document
Interview
Graph
Diary
Book
Autobiography
Letter
Short story
Scientific Report
Journal
Newspaper article
Magazine article
Video
Memoir
Textbook
Website or Online Resource
Encyclopedia
and more!

4. Are some sources better to use than others?
Should you believe everything you read/view?
True or False?
Some sources are more SOLID or credible.
Which ones do you think are more credible?
PRIMARY OR
SECONDARY
Trick Question. They can both be credible. A secondary source can be just as reliable.

5. What are Primary and Secondary Sources?
How can they BOTH be credible?
What sources are NOT good to use?

6. Primary sources Are all historical documents and sources primary? No.
Just because a source is historical,
does NOT mean that it is a primary source.
A source qualifies as PRIMARY if:
It was created by a witness
(someone who watched the events or was involved in the events).
It was written down around the time period of the events.

7. What could those primary sources be?
Ask yourself: Did the author see it or experience it firsthand?
Some Examples:
Speech
Journal
Autobiography
Letter
Photo
Diary
and more!

8. Secondary Sources Encyclopedia Biography Magazine article
after they occurred.
The author did NOT witness the events, but wrote Authors of secondary sources often get their information using primary sources! Some Examples:
Encyclopedia
Biography
Magazine article
Newspaper article
Textbook
What about a scientific report, interview or website?
Can some sources be either primary or secondary? Could a biography be a primary source?
Ask yourself, was the author a witness?

9. Which point of view? In a primary source, the point of view is mainly…
first person
In a secondary source, the point of view
is mainly…
third person objective

10. Internet Sources
Websites and internet sources can be either primary or secondary, depending upon whether the author was a genuine witness. What is most important when using internet sources in research is
CREDIBILITY (How accurate and reliable is the information presented?)
How can you tell if an internet source is credible?

11. Three general questions to ask:
1. What is the ending of the website? Is it .com, .org, .edu or .gov? Which endings are the most reliable?
.edu and .gov
Who is the author of the website?
If you can’t find the author, go back to the main page of the website
and see if you can find it. Why would you want to find the author?
You will want to look up the author’s name online, read about him/her,
and make sure he/she is qualified to write about this topic.
When was it published or updated?
How old is too old to use?
In general, do not use information that has not been updated within the last 5 years.

12. General Tips
To solidify your introductory knowledge about which websites are reliable to use, it is recommended that you watch this video. It gives an overview on how to tell if an internet source is credible: Keywords on YouTube: Credible Websites? By Hartness Library It is 3:52 minutes. If you are unable to access YouTube at your school, you may be able to download this video onto a jumpdrive (at another location).

13. Specific Tips: How to judge an internet source
urrency: How recently was the website
published or updated?
C R A P
elevance: Does the website directly support
your assignment?
uthority: Who is the author and are they an “expert”?
Look the author up and find out his/her qualifications.
ccuracy: Double check the information w/another source.
Does the website include references or “Works Cited” page?
urpose: Why was the website created? Is there any bias?

14. Here are two videos to help you remember it!
Introductory Video: Keywords on YouTube: Evaluating Websites by SenecaLibraries This video is 2:04 minutes. A more detailed video: Keywords on YouTube: Evaluating Websites by GCSCLibrary This video is 1:56 minutes.

15. More In-Depth Examples of Evaluating Websites
A Good Video for Review, however the acronym is slightly different and could confuse some students: Keywords on YouTube: The C.R.A.P. Test by Cara Cook Sonnier 2:19 minutes An even more in-depth Video for possibly high school students: Keywords: The C.R.A.P. Test in Action: Websites By Portland State University Library 5:00 minutes

16. Wrap Up What are three things to “Google” about a website to check
for credibility?
Take notes on the following video to find the answer: Keywords on YouTube: Evaluating Resources by Baker University Library Note: The most valuable information regarding internet source credibility is from 4:02-5:50, however, you may choose to show the whole 7:35 minute video.
Answer: The author, the organization, and the article (what others are saying about it).

17. For Further Study
Another approach to analyzing website credibility other than “C.R.A.P.” is “CAPOW,” explained in the following video. This would make a great wrap-up video (in addition to the one provided in the previous slide). Keywords: Researching Online for College Students: Five Easy Steps by DrPPrice 5:28 minutes

18. Helpful Links
The following is a helpful resource on primary and secondary sources: Here is a link to Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab with a section on questions students can ask to decide if a source is reliable: