LibGuides: Resources for High School Students: Doing Online Research and Evaluating Sources

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The Main Thing

Whenever you find information online, remember to PAUSE and ask these essential questions:

WHO
- Who is giving the information? Are they an expert? Who is it about?
WHAT
- What is the main idea? What is the purpose of the information?
WHERE
- Where did you find the information? Where else can you find this information (to verify)?
WHEN
- When was this information put out? Is it outdated? Is it "early" or "late" in the news/information cycle?
WHY
- Why is this source putting forward this information? Is there advertising or financial/business interests?
HOW
- How is the information being presented? It is in a reliable format?

You can CHECK a source by opening a new tab and searching the source itself. You can also verify information by searching the key terms to find another source.

Have an image or video that you want to verify? Try Reverse Image Search

Fact Checking Sites

Fact-checking websites can help you investigate claims to help you determine whether what you hear or read is true. These resources can help you determine the legitimacy of a claim, but even fact-checking websites should be examined critically.

FactCheck.org
A project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center that checks the accuracy of political statements, news, and claims
PolitiFact
Run by the Tampa Bay Times (which is owned by journalism school the Poynter Institute), this site checks and ranks political claims
Snopes
This site, which has operated since 1995, fact-checks urban legends, rumors, and news
RumorGuard
RumorGuard is run by the News Literacy Project, which was founded in 2008
The Poynter Institute / Fact-Checking Resources
The Poynter Institute serves as the world’s leading resource for journalists to engage and inform the public in democratic societies.

How To Use Wikipedia Wisely

Video: Stanford History Education Group

How To Read Laterally

Infographic source: Joanna Novick, Milton Academy milton.edu/lateralreading

Reading Laterally: Checking Online Sources Quicker and with More Accuracy

What is reading laterally? Evaluate a source by reading about it on other, trustworthy sites.

Open a few new tabs in your browser to search outside of the website itself.
Start by searching the name of the website. Use fact checking sites like Politifact or Snopes
Return to the website and scan for additional information, such as a publisher or author name.

How is your source viewed by others? Combining the information from your various searches should give you a good idea of how this website is viewed and, therefore, whether it is reliable.

The point is to look outside of the website, do not rely on how the website describes itself (such as “about us” page).

Finding Credible Sources Online

Remember, your school and public libraries are valuable resources for finding reliable information! The Los Angeles Public Library has current newspaper access online. Check in with your librarian if you need help deciding if a source is reliable.

Open Access research is published openly and can be accessed freely, and can even be peer-reviewed and credible. Did you know you can looking for open access articles with the CSUN Library website? Find out more on the "From Off Campus" Research Guide.