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CREDIBLE SOURCES
Credible sources are ones the reader can trust. We trust that the author's ideas are his or her own
and can be backed up with evidence. When writing a research paper, doing research, or reading for background information, writers
should ALWAYS use a credible source.
CREDIBILITY
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.
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY SOURCES ARE CREDIBLE?
You can automatically rule out: Wikipedia Myspace Geocities Blogs Friendster Personal sites
USING THE INTERNET FOR RESEARCH The internet offers the BEST information on MANY topics.
The internet offers the WORST information on MOST topics.
You can use internet resources for research papers, but you have to be careful.
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY SOURCES ARE CREDIBLE?
Keep it REAL
R-ead the URL E-xamine the content A-sk about the author L-ook at the links
READ THE URL
Some Common Domain Names
.edu - education sites
.gov - government sites
.org - organization sites
.com - commercial sites
.net - network infrastructures
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
EXAMINE THE CONTENT
•Is it organized and relevant?
•Is it well written and free of grammatical and spelling errors?
•How does the info differ from other sites?
•Is it clear when the information was published?
•When was it last updated?
ASK ABOUT THE AUTHOR
•Is there an author identified?
• What makes him or her an expert?
•Is the author with a reputable organization?
• Can you verify the credentials or contact information?
LOOK AT THE LINKS
•If there are links to other websites, do they work?
•Is the site easy to navigate?
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
•Do not assume that the top results from a search engine list are necessarily credible.
HOW TO GOOGLE
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
If you don’t ask, you’ll never know.
