Process Post #7: Finding Credible Sources

Reading Yes Digital Literacy. But Which One? was very entertaining. The article talked about identifying “fake news” and sites with misinformation. The example websites that the author used to show fake news was obviously not credible to me; however, I found the author’s explanations of how certain people may trust these websites to be interesting. The writer pointed out that if you have no previous knowledge of a topic, any website about that topic might seem credible to you (Caulfield, 2016). This made me reflect on my research process for the PUB essay that is due next week.

I would not consider myself an expert in either of the essay topics given. Because of this, it may make it harder for me to recognize when a website is sharing misinformation. Some websites are obviously biased or fake, so I don’t think I will find myself citing an article that contains fake information; however, certain websites do such a good job and seeming legitimate that it can be hard to distinguish unreliable news sources.

While continuing my research process, I will be sure to refer to the RADCAB and CRAAP methods that the article mentions (Caulfield, 2016). Lastly, I will verify information that I find on various sources to ensure that none of my research is biased or false.