Credible vs. Non-Credible Resources
How do you know that a website or other source is giving you accurate information? Here are 6 tips that will help you determine a source’s credibility. Some of the tips below are only for websites, but others work for any source.  Keep these tips in mind whenever you are looking for accurate, credible information on the Internet or in a library.
1.	DOMAIN-  Look at the URL address of the website. The URL address starts with http://. 

        RELIABLE:
a.	ending in .gov, .us, .mil, and .(STATE ABBREVIATION) are reliable. All other endings will require more investigation to know if they are credible or not.
b.	edu- educational groups, like schools and universities

                                                                                        NOT AS RELIABLE:
							     a. com – commercial, used by businesses
							     b. Org- “organization”- used by groups that do 							                      not work for profit
                                                                                            c. Net- means “network,” used by companies/ 
 							           businesses that mostly operate on the internet.

2.	WHO IS THE AUTHOR or SPONSOR?    URL address that contain tildes (~) usually mean that an individual published the site. Private groups or individuals may not always be trustworthy.  Dig to determine the author’s true background and trustworthiness. Are they authoritative sources? Can you trust them? Are they experienced or experts in this topic? Is there contact info?

3.	DATE/ HOW CURRENT IS THE SITE? Check the publishing date. Obviously, Internet pages that have been published more recently are more credible.

4.	PURPOSE/ WHY WAS THE SITE MADE?  Figure out the site's purpose. Sites that are selling you something or asking you to sign up for something may not present you with trustworthy information. Are there excessive ads or persuasive/biased language with the intent to get you to buy or think a certain way?

5.	WHERE DID THIS SOURCE GET ITS INFO? Check out the contact information and resources. Credible websites should list contact information and resources. Does the website provide links that work?

6.	IS THIS FACTUAL OR OPINION? Decide if the article is describing facts or the author's opinions. Statements that start with "I think" or "From my experience" are not as reliable as those that begin with "Experts recommend" or "Research proves."

Exploring Credible vs. Non-credible Sources
Scenario:  Your grade in history relies on this question of culture and fact:  Who was the world’s tallest man?  Your best friend has gathered the following websites for study, but you both know that you can only include “credible” resources in your presentation.  Evaluate each source below using the six tips for credible sources.  In the end, determine which two resources are your “best bets” because they are – in the end – most reliable. 
Directions:  Copy the chart and information below in your notebook
Example: 
Website#
And name	Domain 
(url address)
.gov., .mil, .us., .edu., .org, .net, .com	Author	Currency/date	Purpose of the site	Where does the info come from?	Fact or Opinion?	Rating

1-not credible
2-somewhat credible
3- more credible
4-most credible
	
1. World's Tallest Man, Robert Wadlow	.com							
2.								
3.								
4.								
5.								
6.								

Rating:
1-	Not credible
2-	Somewhat credible
3-	More credible
4-	Most credible

Who Was the World's Tallest Man?
1.	www.worldslargestthings.com/easterntour/wadlow.htm  
              Worlds Largest Collection of the Worlds Smallest Versions of the Worlds Largest Things, 
              Tallest Man. 

a.	Domain: 
b.	Author:
c.	Currency/date:
d.	Purpose of the site:
e.	Where does the info come from?
f.	Fact or Opinion?
CREDIBILITY RATING     1		2	3	4

2.	http://www.who2.com/ask/robertwadlow.html
a.	Domain: 
b.	Author:   Who2 Biographers
c.	Currency/date:
d.	Purpose of the site:
e.	Where does the info come from?
f.	Fact or Opinion?
CREDIBILITY RATING     1		2	3	4

3.	 www.google.com
             type:  altonweb Robert Wadlow-    choose the 1st site

a.	Domain: 
b.	Author:
c.	Currency/date:
d.	Purpose of the site:
e.	Where does the info come from?
f.	Fact or Opinion?
CREDIBILITY RATING     1		2	3	4

4.	
www.google.com
    type:  gigantism the barrow
-	Go to first site, then type “gigantism” in the search bar (upper right corner)

a.	Domain: 
b.	Author:
c.	Currency/date:
d.	Purpose of the site:
e.	Where does the info come from?
f.	Fact or Opinion?
CREDIBILITY RATING     1		2	3	4

5.	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Wadlow

a.	Domain: 
b.	Author:
c.	Currency/date:
d.	Purpose of the site:
e.	Where does the info come from?
f.	Fact or Opinion?
CREDIBILITY RATING     1		2	3	4

6.	http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8259728.stm 

a.	Domain: 
b.	Author:
c.	Currency/date:
d.	Purpose of the site:
e.	Where does the info come from?
f.	Fact or Opinion?
CREDIBILITY RATING     1		2	3	4
Questions:
1)	In the end, which source do you feel is most credible?  Why is this so?
2)	Which site is among the most non-credible?  How do you know?  EXPLAIN.
3)	What other sources, aside from the internet, might you use to search out information about the “tallest man” and his medical condition “gigantism?”   Describe.

WORKS CITED PRACTICE:
•	The WORKS CITED shows basically how you document your sources.  How you properly cite your sources is based specific on MLA (8th edition) criteria.  Use your Documenting Sources pages to help you. 
•	Choose the two most credible sources you found today.  Document them properly (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER) according to the MLA (8th edition) rules.  

MLA- Citing Sources and Creating a Bibliography

I  Document Your Print Sources

A) Books with one author
• format 

 Author's last name, Author's first name. Title. Place of publication: publisher, publication date.

• example 

Ricciuti, Edward R. What on Earth is a Capybara? Woodbridge, CT: Blackbirch, 1995.

B) Books with two authors
• format
First Author's last name, First Author's first name, and Second Author's first name Second Author's  
     last name. Title. Place of publication: publisher, publication date.

• example 
Chapman, Gillian, and Pam Robson. Exploring Time. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook, 1994.

C) Books - No Author Given
• format 
Title. Place of publication: publisher, publication date.

• example

Kingfisher Illustrated History of the World: 40,000 B.C. to Present Day. New York: Kingfisher, 1993.

D) Encyclopedia Article, Signed
• format 
Name of Encyclopedia, year ed., vol., "Title of article," by Author's first name Author's last name.

• example
Encyclopedia Americana, 1992, vol. 5, "Cassatt, Mary," by Frederick A. Sweet.

E) Encyclopedia Article, Unsigned
• format
 
Name of Encyclopedia, year ed., vol., "Title of article."

• example

Encyclopedia of Mammals, 1996, vol. 14, "Tree Squirrels."

F) Magazine or Newspaper Articles
• format 

Author's last name, Author's first name. "Title of article," Name of Magazine, date of magazine, page 
     number(s).

• example

Witkowski, Mary. "Ancient Kivas: Yesterday and Today," Cobblestone, September 1999, pp. 7-9.

G) Pamphlets or Government Documents
• format 

 Name of agency. Title of pamphlet, date.

• example 

La Purisima Mission State Historic Park Association. La Purisima Mission. 1996.

II  Document Your Non-Print Sources

A) Audiovisual Materials (Audiotapes, Videos, Microfiche, etc.)
• format 

Title (format). Place of distribution: Distributor, date.

• example

Introduction to Puppet Making (video recording). Sherman Oaks, CA: Bogner, Inc., 1992.

B) CD-ROM
• format

Title of CD-ROM (CD-ROM). "Title of article." Place of publication: Publisher, date.

• example3

 1995 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia (CD-ROM). "Kolanuts." Danbury, CT: Grolier Electronic 
     Publishing, Inc., 1995.

C) Interview
• format 

Last name of person interviewed, First name of person interviewed. Organization, place of interview, 
     date of interview.

• example

Graziano, Aka. Graziano Ukuleles, Santa Cruz, CA, December 21, 2002.

D) Internet
• format 

 Author's last name, Author's first name. "Title of Document." (Online) Document date. URL (visited: 
     date of visit).

• example

Salda, Michael. "Cinderella Project." (Online) December, 1997. http://www-dept.usm.edu/~engdept/
     cinderella/cinderella.html  (visited: December 8, 1999).

E) Online Magazine or Newspaper Articles 
• format 

Author's last name, Author's first name. "Title of article." Name of magazine, date of magazine, page 
     numbers. Reproduced in Name of Database. Library where database was accessed, location of 
     library. Date of access.

• example

Dawson, Virginia. "Comfort Zone: A Cardiganed Fred Rogers Made Every Kid Feel Cozy and Warm." 
     Smithsonian, May, 2003, p.31. Reproduced in InfoTrac OneFile. Santa Cruz Public Library, Santa 
     Cruz, CA. Sept. 16, 2003.

F) Reference Databases
• format

Author's last name, Author's first name. "Title of article." Source. Publisher, year. Reproduced in  
     Name of Database. Library where database was accessed, location of library. Date of access.
• example

"Neanderthal Man Discovered, 1856." Discovering World History., Gale Research, 1997. 
     Reproduced in Student Resource Center. Santa Cruz Public Library, Santa Cruz, CA. Sept. 18, 
     2003.

III  Arrange Your Citations in a Bibliography

1. If the author is unknown, start your citation with the title.

2. Arrange the citations in alphabetical order by the first words, ignoring "A", "An", and "The" when 
     they are the first word of the title.

3. The first line of each citation is not indented. The second line is indented (usually 1/2").