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ENG 112: Exploring Identities (Garcia)

Searching for Websites

There are many websites sponsored by governments, museums, universities, and organizations that can provide many perspectives on your topic.  Make sure that you carefully evaluate any webpage that you decide to include in your project.

Internet Search Tips

Internet Search Tips

  • Limit your internet search to sites from specific domains such as .gov, .edu, or .org. This weeds out a lot of “junk” sites and saves time.
  • DO NOT PAY for articles that you find on the Internet. The Library can usually get articles for FREE through interlibrary loan.

Internet Search Examples

  • To find U.S. government (state and federal) websites only:

    • site:.gov adoption race identity

  • To find websites from higher education institutions (colleges, universities, archives, etc.):

    • site:.edu self identity

  • To find organization based websites:

    • site:.org religious identity

    • Tip: To exclude Wikipedia, just add -wikipedia to the search.

    • Watch for bias with .org websites!

Why Evaluate?

It is important to evaluate the quality of information provided by any resource that you use, but this is particularly so for websites. Since any person or organization can create a website, the user must take on the responsibility for determining the accuracy and relevance of the material on that site. This page serves as a guide to help you evaluate websites.

The ABC Test

Use the ABC test to help you determine the credibility of a website.

Authority:

The source of the information

Who is the author, publisher, source, or sponsor?
What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations?
Is the author qualified to write on the topic?
MOST IMPORTANT: Lateral Reading

Lateral Reading

  • Leave the website, open new tabs, and seek additional information about a website's credibility, reputation, funding, and potential biases.
  • Don't just rely on the information found on the website itself. Don't take their word for it. See what others have to say.
  • Lateral reading allows you to get a more complete perspective on the credibility of a source.

From Univ of Louisville Libraries Citizen Literacy Toolkit

Bias:

The purpose and point of view of the information

What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform, to teach, to sell, to entertain?
Do the authors or sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
Is the information fact, opinion, or propaganda?
Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
Are multiple perspectives included? 
What bias do you bring to the topic? Are you only looking for sources that confirm your current beliefs?

Be Aware of Confirmation Bias

"The first step in countering confirmation bias is to recognize it in ourselves. Then we can guard against it by getting our news from a wide range of credible sources, reading opinion columns from a variety of viewpoints, and including these varied perspectives in our social media posts."

From the News Literacy Project - "Don't Let Confirmation Bias Narrow Your Perspective."

Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, and recall information in a way that supports what we already believe. News Literacy Project

Currency:

The timeliness of the information

When was the information published or posted?
Has the information been revised or updated?
Does your topic require current or historical information?
Are the links functional? Do they take you to updated information sources?