Struggling to figure out if a source is reliable or not? The first step is the CRAP test: currency, relevance to your topic, authority, purpose or bias of the source.
Continuously updated interactive map of the news landscape, showing a bell curve of political affiliation, type of reporting (facts, analysis, complex analysis), and reliability. Also includes a static version of the media landscape chart for printing or download.
"This is an unabashedly practical guide for the student fact-checker. It supplements generic information literacy with the specific web-based techniques that can get you closer to the truth on the web more quickly." - from the author, Michael A. Caulfield
Focuses on COVID-19 "infodemic" of misinformation and disinformation on the pandemic. Relevant strategies for any type of fake news. Also includes interpretation of the podcast as a comic strip. Accessed April, 24, 2020.
Publication or Periodical Types
BEAM for Organizing Annotated Bibs, Research Papers
This table, created from the ideas developed by Joseph Bizup, describes the roles that sources can play (some of the ways they can be used) in your finished assignment, such as a term paper. Bizup called his model BEAM, an acronym that stands for background, exhibits (or evidence), argument, and method.
Interactive page showing and explaining the common parts of a scholarly article (ex: abstract, bibliography, data, conclusions, etc). Requires mouse hover to show information.
Used with permission from the NCSU Libraries.
Peer Review in 3 Minutes (video)
What does it mean for a source to be credible? Discusses author/publisher expertise, bias, peer review, currency, and how you’ll use it.
