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Evaluating Sources

This guide includes tools and information to help you evaluate sources for assignments at SCC.

Domain Endings

Domain endings are the end part of a URL (.com, .org, .edu, etc.). Sometimes the domain ending can give you a clue to a website's purpose. While domain endings can give you some ideas about a website, they should not be the only way you determine if a website is credible or not.

.com

.com stands for commercial sites, but can really be anything. Below are some examples of .com sites you are probably familiar with:

  • Huffington Post: generally considered to have a liberal slant, but does have articles with legitimate information and credible sources.
  • NBC: official television network with information about news and current events; not always guaranteed to be accurate, but in general a credible .com website.
  • The Atlantic: considered to have a moderate worldview, their news articles are considered to be of a higher quality.
  • Biography: a website for the television channel Biography. Often a good source for newer figures who have not had time to be printed in more formal biographical publications.
  • Glamour: may have occasional articles that are relevant for specific topics. It depends on the context and the assignment needs. If a student is preparing a speech on a popular culture topic, Glamour may be an acceptable source of information.

.org

.org websites should be organizations, but again, they can really be anything, since the purchase of .org domain names is not restricted. The Modern Language Association, American Cancer Society, and the American Welding Society are all examples of respected, well-known websites and are considered to be "the" organization that drives the discipline.

  • NPR: an example of a well-known, respected news organization.
  • Wikipedia: often students are allowed to use .org websites, but not Wikipedia. This creates a little conflict in the information relayed to students. While Wikipedia is a .org website, it can technically be edited by anyone, which is why it is not always the most credible source to use for an assignment.
  • Martin Luther King: sounds respectable. While not obvious at first glance, but if you look into the publisher of the website, you will find the group, Stormfront, is a white nationalist organization with a very biased opinion of Dr. King.
  • Institute for Historical Review: this site looks and sounds official. The article, "Context and Perspective in the 'Holocaust' Controversy," is published in a journal with the biography of the author provided. But what do we know about the organization? The journal is actually published by a well-known Holocaust denial group. And if you look at the author's credibility, you find that he is not a historian, but a professor of electrical engineering. To further raise suspicions, most of the citations in the article are to other works by the author.

.edu

.edu websites should contain credible materials, at least that is our expectation. The domain .edu is restricted for purchase, however, there are a few sites that have been grandfathered in (not legitimate schools), but the other general information to keep in mind is that schools often offer web space to students for student work. Many schools also offer a digital commons to share student and faculty work, that has not been peer-reviewed. The sites look professional, so it is important to understand what type of information you are looking at.

  • "Drug Shortages: The Problem of Inadequate Profits": this is a student paper located in the Harvard Digital Commons. The paper looks very similar to any other article you might locate in a database, meaning it may be difficult to determine this is another student's work.
  • "Researcher Dispels Myth of Dioxins and Plastic Water Bottles": This article on the Johns Hopkins website is written by a professor with a PhD in environmental science and works in the Department of Public Health at the university. There is a measure of credibility to this article, but it has not been formally published or peer-reviewed. You will need to consider whether the information is authoritative for your information need.
  • "Gender Bias in Microlending: Do Opposite Attract?": this example is a student thesis for a master's program. There should be some oversight by the student's professors, but the authority of the information would be dependent on how the student is using it. Is a master's thesis acceptable material for your assignment?

Miscellaneous Domain

Miscellaneous domain endings have a lot of variety, so it is important to look closely at the source itself, and not the domain ending on it's own:

  • .int: stands for international. The NATO website and the World Health Organization (WHO) are great examples of credible websites ending with this domain.
  • .uk: the country code for the United Kingdom. The official website for the UK government, Parliament, uses this domain.
  • .net: could be any type of website, like the Institute of War and Peace Reporting, a charitable foundation that reports on the safety and events occurring in countries in upheaval around the world.