Brackett Library Mueller Campus: Websites

First, check with your instructor!

If you are planning to use the Web for your research, any sources that you find should be authenticated. The sites you locate might contain deceptive, biased, or incorrect information. It will be your job to determine which information meets the rigors of academic research. For this reason, instructors and librarians often encourage students to use only the library's resources, where much of the authentication has already been done for you.

To add the FIND TEXT @ IRSC link to your search results, click the bars (also called a hamburger icon) in the top left then click Settings. Next, click on Library Links. Type in Indian River State College and click the magnifying glass and then place a checkmark in the box next to the results and click Save. 

When your instructor asks you to find "scholarly" articles, what does that mean?

Questions to ask:

• Who is responsible for this page or website? Can you find the name of an author, publisher, and/or sponsor? Look for an "About" or "About Us" link.
  
• Why is this information here? What is the motivation of the author? Is it to sell, persuade, educate, or inform the reader? The domain name may offer a clue.  A ".com" website usually has services or goods for sale. Goverment (.gov) and educational (.edu) websites can be safer choices for academic research.
  
• When was the site last updated? Is there a date on the document you are evaluating? A credible web page should provide this information.
• What type of content does this web document contain? Is it an advertisement, a discussion, an opinion, or a scholarly article or essay? Is it part of a print publication? Are references or links provided to help you independently verify the information? Are the issues or opinions presented supported by evidence? Or, is the information heavily biased?  Bias may be okay as long as you are aware of it.