Evaluating Online Resources: Evaluating Websites

• How recent is the information?
• Can you figure out when the information you're looking at was created, updated or published?
• Based on your topic, is the information current enough?

• What kind of information is included on the website?
• Is the information accurate?
• Is the content fact? A thing that is known or proved to be true.
• OR is the content opinion? A view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. 
• Is the information balanced or biased?                             
• Does the author provide references?
• Are there links on the page? Do they work? Where do they go?

• Who is the author / creator / producer of the site?
• What are their credentials - Where do they work? What is their title? Do they have academic degrees in this subject?
• Do they have experience or expertise with the topic?
• What organization is associated with the site? Can you find their contact information?
• What is the domain? (.com = personal pages or commercial organizations, .edu = educational institution, .org = non-profit organization, .gov = government body, .mil = military body)  

• What is the purpose of the website? (persuade, inform, sell)
• What is the domain? (.edu, .com, .mil, .gov, etc.) How might this effect the point of view?
• Are there ads on the site?
• Is the website presenting fact or opinion?
• Who would benefit from a reader believing this website?
• Who is the intended audience?

Authority – Author, creator, producer, or publisher.

Bias - Prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.

Blind Trust - The “skill” of believing what you're told, regardless of what you see.

Clickbait – A sensationalized headline or piece of text on the Internet designed to entice people to follow a link to an article on another web page.

Cognitive Dissonance – The state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes.

Confirmation Bias – The tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories.

Contemporary - Existing, occurring, or living at the same time; belonging to the same time.

Conspiracy theory – A theory that explains an event as being the result of a plot by a covert group or organization; a belief that a particular unexplained event was caused by such a group.

Crisis Actors - a trained actor, role player, volunteer, or other person engaged to portray a disaster victim during emergency drills to train first responders such as police, firefighters or EMT personnel.

Currency – Generally accepted, used, practiced, or prevalent at the moment

Disinformation - False information that is intended to mislead, especially propaganda issued by a government organization to a rival power or the media.

Empirical Evidence – Knowledge obtained through the use of the senses.

Fact – Reality or truth – something known to exist or have happened.

Fake News – News created to deliberately deceive its audience with false information.

False Flag - Covert operations designed to deceive; the deception creates the appearance of a particular party (group or nation) being responsible for some activity, disguising the actual source of responsibility.

Hoax – false information intentionally put out to deceive people.

Ideology - A system of ideas and ideals, especially one that forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

Information -- knowledge communicated or received concerning a particular fact or circumstance.

Knowledge -- acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation.

Logical Fallacy – Errors in reasoning that undermine the logic of an argument.

Misinformation - False or inaccurate information, especially that which is deliberately intended to deceive.

Native Advertising - material in an online publication which resembles the publication's editorial content but is paid for by an advertiser and intended to promote the advertiser's product.

Objectivity- (of a person or their judgment) not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts.

Opinion - A belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.

Peer-Review - The evaluation of work by one or more people of similar competence.

Post-Truth - Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.

Primary Source – Any other source of information that was created at the time under study.

Propaganda – Bias or intentionally false information disseminated to influence public opinion for a political purpose.

Purpose – The reason the source was written.

Relevant – Closely connected or appropriate to what is being done or considered; appropriate to the current time, period, or circumstances; of contemporary interest.

Reliable – A source you can trust.

Satirical News – News programs with comedic overtones that are intentionally funny.

Scholarly – Written by an expert in a field for an audience of other experts in that field.

Subjective - Based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.

Supporting Sources/Corroborating Evidence – Sources that support something said in another source.

Glossary was adapted with permission from St. Joseph’s College LibGuide URL: http://brooklyn.sjcny.libguides.com/evaluatingsources