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Pollak Library

Criminal Justice: Websites

Subject guide for Criminal Justice

Evaluating Websites

Which website would you trust?

America's Finest News Source        Dihydrogen Monoxide        Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

NWF Daily News                 Best Friends           Australian Drop Bears              

Wikipedia           Youtube           Library Answers     PollakLibrary Youtube

Ask yourself the following questions when evaluating websites:

  • Is the author an authority or expert on the subject?  Are they credible?
  • What is the author's agenda?  Do they have a bias? Are they trying to sell an idea or product?  
  • Who is sponsoring the site? What does the URL tell you?  nonprofit (.org), governmental (.gov)
  • What is the purpose of the site?  To sell something? To inform? 
  • Who is the intended audience for the site?
  • Do they use evidence to support fact claims, ideas, or opinions?
  • Is the information current?

Rockwell painting "Now son, do you know what you did wrong?"

 
Father scolding his son: "Now son, do you know what you did wrong? Yes sir, I shared something on Facebook without checking facts & encouraged bullshit to propagate, leading to dumbing down of humanity."

How to Avoid Alternative News

Break down of news sources

12 Dec 2016 in Culture, Design, Ethics, Journalism, Media, Rhetoric

Chart credited to Vanessa Otero

​List of news sources ranked from left (liberal) to right (conservative) by reliability.

Questionable: Natural News, Addicting Info, Occupy Democrats, U.S. Uncut, Huffington Post, Infowars, DailyCaller, Fox News, Red State, Blaze.

Reliable: AP, Reuters, ABC news, NBC news, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, NPR, BBC, The Hill, The Economist, The Guardian, The Atlantic.

CRAAP Criteria

The CRAAP Criteria:

  • Currency
  • Relevance
  • Authority
  • Accuracy
  • Purpose

 

Light-hearted review of the CRAAP method

 

The Perfect Source Search

Research takes time.  If you are searching for that one perfect source, you might not find it.  Here is a light-hearted look at why you might not find it, with some tips to help.  

One Perfect Source?