How do you know if your information is reliable?  

Nhandler. Dog in Animal Shelter in Washington, Iowa. 2007. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.

Ask questions about all your information sources. 

General sources like brief summaries are full of very readable information on your social issue

...BUT... 

you can end up with incorrect, out-dated and or highly biased information if you are not careful!

Maybe it was easy to find, but is it good? 

Assess: Does this information belong in my academic project or is it .... CRAP?

Currency

• How recent is the information?
• If a website, how recently has it been updated?
• Is it current enough for your topic? (Is this a  field with rapidly changing information?)

Reliability

• Is content of the resource primarily opinion? Is  it balanced?
• Does the creator provide citations or sources?
• Can you verify the info elsewhere?

Authority / Accuracy

• Can you find the credentials of the author or  creator of the information?
• If a website, is a known, objective organization responsible for the information (example: .gov, .org, .edu domains)?
• Are there obvious errors or typos?

Purpose / Point of View

• Is the information fact or opinion?
• Who is the intended audience?
• Are there advertisements?
• Is the creator/author trying to:

• What is the publisher’s interest (if any) in this  information? Can you determine if the publisher  has a political, religious, or other ideology to  promote?