Green River LibGuides: ENGL 101 English Composition 1: Find Websites

Evaluate your Info Sources

Evaluating your Sources

Here's one other tool for evaluating not just websites, but all information! Download the document below to see a list of questions that will help you figure out how to determine if your sources are quality ones.

CRAAP test
(Accessible)

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Don't Settle: Effective Web Searching

Effective Web Searching

While the site domain does not determine the quality of an information source, domain-specific searching is an effective search strategy.

Limit to:

Government websites: site:.gov
Educational institutions (but watch out for student work!) site:.edu
Non-profit organizations (and some businesses) site:.org
Specific industries and many news sources are commercial enterprises. site:.com

Google Advanced Search
Use this search to help you limit by resource, date and more. Find specific types of websites, such as those created for academic purposes (.edu) or government (.gov).

Key Web Resources

Useful Websites

The following web sites (and search engines) are a place to start, though they offer just a hint of what's out there.

Statistics & Government Resources

USA.gov
The portal to all official U.S. Government agencies, departments, publications, and more.
U.S. Census Bureau
U.S. Census data reflects the demographic make-up of the U.S., with figures on family size and structure, income, health insurance coverage, and much, much more.
United Nations (UN): Department of Economic and Social Affairs - Statistics
The homepage for all topics under the UN's international statistics

Select Research Centers /Public Policy Think Tanks

Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan "fact tank" that provides reports and statistics on the issues, attitudes and social trends shaping America and the world.
The Annenberg Public Policy Center
The Annenberg Public Policy Center performs research in the fields of political communication, information and society, the media and more
Kaiser Family Foundation
Kaiser is a non-profit organization focusing on national health issues, as well as the U.S. role in global health policy. Unlike grant-making foundations, Kaiser develops and runs its own policy analysis, journalism and communications programs, sometimes in partnership with major news organizations. We serve as a non-partisan source of facts, analysis and journalism for policymakers, the media, the health policy community and the public.
Washington State Institute for Public Policy
Policy areas include child welfare, criminal justice, education, health care, mental health, government, the state economy, and employment/welfare. Each topic links to recent studies and analysis.

Specific Social Issues

Center on Reinventing Public Education
"CRPE engages in independent research and policy analysis on a range of K-12 public education reform issues, including choice & charters, finance & productivity, teachers, urban district reform, leadership, and state & federal reform."
Menstuff
An online information source on all kinds of topics for men
U.S. Department of Education
Research, statistics, news, policy, and more information on education in the United States.
National Institute of Health Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research
Studies of the impact of social issues on key health concerns
West Coast Poverty Center
Run through the UW, the Center researches the causes of poverty and effective means to reduce poverty.
Women and Develpment Resources on the Internet
A directory of the Gender and Technology Network
XYonline
XY describes its focus as men, masculinities, and gender politics.

Why Websites

Why Use Websites?

The web is a great resource for the following:

Government information
International sources
Up-to-the-minute and local news
Local resources
Organizations involved in an issue
Statistics
Opinion
Images and video
and much more

Google Advanced Search Tips

Google Advanced Search

Find websites that are more relevant to your needs by using the advanced search features in Google

Example Scenario

You are researching how stem cells from human embryos might help cure neurological diseases, especially Parkinson's disease

As outlined in the example search in the image below, you can use the following advanced search limiters are used and why:

Limiter: this exact word or phrase
- this will wrap whatever words you place into the box in quotation marks - that will limit the results to websites with this exact phrase
Limiter: any of these words
- By putting in "neural disease" OR "Parkinson's disease" - your search will show you websites that refer to either neural disease OR specifically to Parkinson's disease (a type of neural disease). This broadens your search
Limiter: none of these words
- Use this limiter by putting in a term or phrase that you do not want to see on any of the websites. The example word of cloning will not show up in your results about stem cells.
Limiter: site or domain
- And since you hope to find good, authoritative websites that have content that have been thoroughly researched, limit your results to government (.gov) websites

(click on image to enlarge)

Google Advanced Search
Use this search to help you limit by resource, date and more. Find specific types of websites, such as those created for academic purposes (.edu) or government (.gov).