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KISJ HS Library: Website evaluation

This is the guide to the High School Library at Korea International School Jeju.

Welcome

There are many tools for evaluating the credibility and usefulness of a website

Links

Lateral Reading

Lateral Reading is a method of determining credibility of online information in which you open multiple tabs to search for other information to validate the site’s claims. Check out these videos to learn more about it:

  • Who is behind the information?
    • Who funds or sponsors the site where the original piece was published? Look at the About page or advertisements to identify sponsors.
    • Who is the author or organization?
  • What evidence is provided for their claims?
    • Are biases present?

    • Are sources present to corroborate claims?

    • What types of sources are they using to support their claims? 

    • Are quotes corroborated by reliable sources? Have they been taken out of context?
  • What do other sources say about the organization and their claims?
    • ​​​​​​​When you do a search on the topic of the original piece, are the initial results from fact-checking organizations?

    • Have questions been raised about other articles by the author or organization?

    • Does what you’re finding elsewhere contradict the original piece?

    • Are credible news outlets reporting on (or perhaps more important, not reporting on) what you’re reading?

Practice Lateral Reading using this checklist:

CRAAP Test

The CRAAP Test Looks at the Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose of a Website

Source: Sydney Health Literacy Lab