Evaluate the Reliability and Credibility of Online Sources Task: Melissa is researching for a paper on the dangers of tobacco chew. Help her deicide if the websites she comes across are good enough for her paper. She has clicked on several websites, and has some important decisions to make. Remember to think about the CARS acronym, look for purpose and tone, and consider what information is present. First, Melissa performed an Internet search on Google to find information about dangers of chewing tobacco. The results are below. 1. a) b) c) d) From this list of choices, which site would provide the most valid information for Melissa? www.cancer.gov www.stopthspit.com www.huffingtonpost.com www.youtube.com By Julie Faulkner Melissa decides to click on a website from http://www.hoochsnuff.com that promises to help with tobacco addictions. Take a look, and then answer the questions that follow. 2. What is the MAIN purpose of the page? a. To give facts about different types of snuff b. To sell people a product to quit dipping c. To encourage people to get healthy like Lee Reherman d. To get people to join Facebook 3. Would this site be a credible resource for Melissa to use as a source in her paper? a. Yes, because it shows different types of snuff b. Yes, because it gives ideas on how to quit. c. No, because its sole purpose to sell a product and ask for money. d. No, because Lee Reherman might not be a real person. By Julie Faulkner Below is the front page of a website Melissa saw when she clicked on the URL http://www.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco. Look over the site, and then answer the questions that follow. 4. What is the page name? a. Collections and Resources b. Tobacco Control Archives c. UCSF Library and Center for Knowledge Management d. The Regents of the University of California 5. Who is the page’s sponsor? a. Collections and Resources b. Tobacco Control Archives c. UCSF Library and Center for Knowledge Management d. The Regents of the University of California 6. What is the date of the page? a. No date b. 2011 c. March 28, 2012 d. 1 hour ago 7. By Julie Faulkner Would this site be a credible resource for Melissa to use as a source in her paper? a. Yes, because it is from a university and the articles have been researched. b. Yes, because it is laid out easily to understand. c. No, because it is too cluttered. d. No, it appears to be only for college students. Melissa continued searching until she found a source about the dangers of chewing tobacco. Take a look at the article from the website: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_121855.html, and then answer the questions that follow. 8. What is the title of the article? a. Here are some examples of what can go wrong b. “Health Tip: Chewing Tobacco Harms Oral Health” c. Health Day d. Medline Plus 9. Who is the author of the article? a. Diana Kohnle b. Medline Plus c. Health Day d. Health Day News 10. What is one way we can tell this is an accurate source? a. b. c. d. By Julie Faulkner It gives several examples. The article date is Monday, Feb 13, 2012 and the copyright has been updated in 2012 as well. It is the full story It was written by a woman who does not smoke.
