How to Evaluate Information Sources

Searching Google or Bing? 

When you search Google or Bing, there are no checkboxes for document types as there are with library databases like Academic Search Premier. So, you have to figure out what you're looking at when you encounter a search result.

Google serves up resources from anyone who has the ability to create a webpage --

• a newspaper,
• an academic journal,
• a government organization,
• groups with extreme radical views,
• advocacy groups for social issues that span the spectrum,
• the list goes on... and we're just talking about regular webpages -- we haven't even touched on social media.

So, how do you evaluate a resource you find on Google? Try the CRAAP Test or the SIFT Method. Review some information on Fake News and Fact Checking.