HONR 212: Nuclear Energy: Evaluating Sources

Because so much information is now available online, websites are a huge category. Think carefully about what type of website you're looking at (blog, encyclopedia, university news story) and what type of information is on it. How can you tell?

Additionally, think about evaluating the overall quality of the website information, using many of the same techniques as news evaluation. 

• Government websites use the .gov domain
• Science websites may use .edu, but they might also use .com or .org.
  • .com and .org are not necessarily good or bad - you'll just really need to pay attention to the information quality to prove your source is a quality, credible website.
• The government agency, educational/science organization, or other institution should be easy to spot
• Google the organization - they should have a website, Wikipedia page, and be referenced in other sources
• Google the author
• Google a few things about the article
• Click around the website
• Pay careful attention to the date
• Think critically about funding and where any money is coming from
• Consider the length and scope. Is this a short pamphlet or a lengthier scientific article?

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The CRAAP test is just one method for determining what kind of quality a resource is. It's useful for all resources, but especially so for anything you find outside of the scholarly world.