jobbiz
Instructions Read the attached notes on the Three Steps to…
Instructions
Read the attached notes on the Three Steps to Verify Websites. Then follow the instructions below.
Website Evaluation Assignment
Below you will find six websites, grouped into pairs based on the topic. For each topic one website is more reliable than the other. For this assignment use the three steps from the attached notes to decide which source is more reliable. explaining which website is more reliable based on the information you have gathered, and why you think it is more reliable than the other source.
Topic: Flu Remedies
Natural Home Remedies: Colds and Flu: https://www.besthealthmag.ca/article/natural-home-remedies-colds-and-flu/
Prevent Seasonal Flu: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/index.html
Topic: Consumer Advocacy
Consumer Reports: https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/index.htm
Center for Consumer Freedom: https://www.consumerfreedom.com/
Topic: Solar Minimum
Sunspots ‘Will Bring Down Temperatures for Decades’ Says Report: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1159227/weather-forecast-long-range-solar-minimum-maximum-ice-age-space-weather-news
The Sun is Quieter Than Normal, But Don’t Panic: https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/solar-activity-1.50
Three Steps to Verify Websites
How do you know if you can trust what you see online? Where does the information come from, and is it a trustworthy source? In todays world of social media, disinformation, and wildly different opinions, it can be difficult to know where the information is coming from or whether the information we are reading is accurate or not.
There are three steps you can use to verify websites, articles and information that you see online:
Find the Source- Where did the information originally come from?
Because it is so easy to copy and share things online, it is important to find out the original source of the information- who put the information online first- before you can decide whether the information is trust worthy or not.
The easiest way to find the source is usually to follow the links that will lead you back to the original story. On social media, you can usually find a link at the end or bottom of the post. On a website, look for phrases like “According to” a source, a source “reported” or the word “Source” at the top or bottom of a story. Be aware it may take you clicking on several links and going to multiple websites before you find the original source of information.
Another way to try to find the original source is using a search engine like Google to see if you can find any information about where the story originally came from. Make sure to use key words and phrases, and the name of the source if the link isn’t directly available on a website.
To find an original source of a photo or image, you can use something called reverse image search. Start by right-clicking on the image and selecting the option “Copy Image Location”. Then go to the website Tineye.com and paste the address you just copied and sort the results to show the oldest first.
Verify the Source- Once you know who created the content, ask yourself the following questions to decide for yourself whether the people who created the content are trustworthy or not.
Even if a website, photo, video or news story has been shared with you by someone you trust. You can’t be sure if they checked the facts, so that’s up to you to do! You can’t always confirm that something is false, but if the source isn’t reliable then you have no reason to believe it.
1. Does the source really exist?
It’s easy to make fake pictures, fake websites, and fake social network profiles that look just as real and professional as anything out there.
“About Us” pages and profiles are easy to fake, so use Wikipedia or a search engine like Google to find out if other people say they really exist. Pay attention to things that are hard to fake: for example, if somebody claims to work for a particular company, check the company’s website or search for their name and the company’s name to see if they’ve ever been mentioned together in a reliable source (like a newspaper you already know is real)
2. Are they who they say they are?
It is easy to pretend to be someone else online, so once you know the source really exists, you need to find out if what you’re looking at really came from them.
Some social networks, like Twitter and Instagram, verify users by putting a blue checkmark next to their name. This does not mean that they are a reliable source, it just means that they are who they say they are.
3. Are they trustworthy?
For sources of general information, like newspapers, that means asking if they have a process for making sure that they are giving you good information, and have a good track record of doing it. How often do they make mistakes? If they do make mistakes, do they admit them and publish corrections? Are they willing to publish things their owners, or their readers, wouldn’t agree with?
For more specialized sources, you want to ask whether they’re experts or authorities on that topic. Being an expert is more than just being a doctor, scientist or a professor: make sure they are an expert int he area that they are talking about.
You also want to make sure their position isn’t biased, but don’t mix up bias and authority. A biased source starts with what they believe and then chooses or interprets the facts to fit those beliefs. Someone who is actually an expert on something will probably have stronger opinions about it than someone who isn’t – but they’ll be better-informed opinions.
Check Other Sources- Do other trustworthy sources agree with what they are saying?
This step may sometimes be the last one you do, but you could also do the step first. The News tab on Google is better than the main Google search for this step because it only shows real news sources. While not every source that’s included is perfectly reliable, they are all news outlets that really exist.
By taking this step, you can be sure you get the whole story. Remember, all sources make mistakes sometimes, but reliable ones will correct them.
Looking at other sources can help you find out if the first place you saw something might have been leaving something out. This is also a good way of discovering any possible bias that might exist in any one source.
You can also use this step to find out whether multiple reliable sources, or most experts on a topic agree with the information you started with. This is called a consensus view. While it’s generally good reporting to give both sides of a story, including views that experts agree aren’t right, it can result in spreading misinformation.
Wikipedia can be a good place to find the consensus on a topic because each Wikipedia article represents the consensus of its editors. Just remember to watch for warning banners that suggest a specific article might not be reliable.
