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First Year Seminar: Library Services & Resources Module: Module 5: Evaluate Information & Sources

This guide will help new students become oriented with library resources and services, as well as becoming acquainted with some research basics.

Evauating Information & Sources

It is important to evaluate the information and sources you find as credible whether in print form or from the internet. The internet contains a wealth of good and bad information. Information can be created by anyone on the internet. As you begin the research process you need to assess the sources you find and determine if they contain accurate and valuable information. Information from the internet requires more scrutiny from you while information from a database is a more reliable resource.

Internet Domains

It is important to know who is sponsoring the content on the internet. Which one is more trustworthy than the other?

  • State & Federal Agencies: .gov  *considered credible
  • Educational Institutions: .edu  *considered credible
  • non-profit organization: .org  (may contain some bias)
  • commercial entity: .com (commercial - may be selling a product or service)
  • Internet Service Providers: .net (net access provider)

The CRAAP Test - - NOT Required Assignment