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Information Literacy Modules
  • What is a Web page?

    A Web page is an online source of any length.

    A Web page appears in many formats.


  • What is a Web site?

    All the Web pages within one domain are called a Web site.


  • What is the difference between a Web Project and a Web site?

    A Web Project is a section of a Web site that has:

    • A topical focus
    • A section title

  • How do I evaluate the author?

    The author's expertise and credentials should relate to your subject. A credible contributor might:

    • Hold a degree in this subject
    • Study or do research on this topic
    • Work in a related field
    • Write about this topic regularly
    • Have first-hand knowledge
    • Have participated in, or observed, events and people

  • How do I evaluate the publisher?

    Why would this organization publish this information?

    Tip: Read the "About" page.


  • Is recent information important for my topic?

    Information on science, current events and living people changes rapidly. What is the publication date?


  • How do I fact-check the information?

    Who does the author link to, quote, or reference?

    • Has the author presented the original source information accurately?
     

    How strong is the evidence?

    • If there is a study or poll, is the sample size large enough to represent the population accurately?
     

    Corroborate the facts

    • Verify information in other types of media (e.g., journals, magazines, blogs, reports)

  • How do I evaluate the credibility of the author's argument?

    What is the author's purpose (e.g., persuade, inform, describe)? How do you know?

    • What's the main idea?
    • Does the author consider other views?
    • Whose perspective is missing?
    • Could I interpret things differently?
     

    How does this source fit?

    • Does this make sense, given what I already know?
    • Does this source add a different point of view?

  • Where do I find the citation elements?

    • Title
    • Author
    • Date of publication or update
    • Publisher or sponsor
    • Web Site or Web Project name (Cut the URL back to the "first slash" to check the name.)

  • Which URL should I use?

    Test your URL in a different browser (e.g., Firefox vs. Chrome) to verify that it is stable.

    • A stable URL often ends in .htm, .html, a slash, or no file extension
     

    Don't evaluate your source by the URL.

    • ANY company or organization can buy ANY top-level domain (.com, .org or .net)