Anyone can put information online. Online information contains everything from useful information to misleading information, advertisements, news, entertainment, advocacy, and even propaganda and fake information.
How can you tell whether that information is credible and authoritative - either online or published in journal articles? Use the ESCAPE process below to guide you.
Good quality sources/scholarship:
Scholarly (and research) journals have editorial boards with subject area experts. They examine a scholarly (or research) article for accuracy and objectivity.
Credible information and news sources like newspapers, responsible news sites, and government agency sites also check information and articles for accuracy and how content follows professional standards.
Journalists (who write credible news articles) also check their sources for accuracy, currency, and quality. They report events and news, and if they offer opinions, they are not trying to argue a point or persuade you. If they do give opinions or argue a point, they offer verifiable facts, data, or scientific evidence.
Poor quality sources/scholarship:
Practice evaluating sources using the tutorial linked below.
These tutorials will help you learn more about evaluating information.
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