Credible Sources and Evidence

​Finding Credible Sources and Evidence

By Donna Kapa

​Let’s Remember Where We Left Off!

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Let’s Remember Where We Left Off!

• Most Deadly Creatures

• Exotic Parasites

• Rare and Unusual Hobbies

• Bizarre Weather Events

• Lost Civilizations

​Topics

Last class, we took our big, broad topics and made them more focused by asking “smaller” research questions.

​Last Time

Let’s Remember Where We Left Off!

• Extreme Ironing

• Sahull

• The Pavlotetri Civilization

• Atlantis

• Mosquitos

​Your Topics

You practiced using the 5 Ws + H (Who, What, When, Where, Why, How) to dig deeper into your topic.

​Last Time

​Objectives

Students will be able to identify credible sources and select relevant evidence to answer their research questions.

​Modeling the Research Process

Today, I’m going to walk you through my research process and ask for your help in deciding which sources and evidence I should use to answer my questions about fire tornadoes.

Open Ended

My topic: Bizarre Weather Events → Fire Tornadoes

Using the 5 Ws + H (who, what, where, when, why, how), write some research questions for me to get started on learning about Fire Tornadoes.

​Search Results: AI Overview

The AI Overview is Google’s artificial intelligence tool that summarizes information from multiple web pages into a short paragraph at the top of your search results.

What is Google AI Overview?

1. It scans many sources across the web.

2. Then it synthesizes the information into a brief summary.

3. The links shown on the right are pages the AI pulled from or considers relevant.

​How It Works

Open Ended

Make an inference:

Look at the AI the sources (right screen).

Why is it not a good idea to copy sentences from the AI Overview or treat the AI Overview as a “source”?

​Evaluating a Source

1. Authority – Who wrote or published it?
   → Look for experts, organizations, or .edu / .gov sites

2. Accuracy - Is the information supported by evidence?
   → Check facts, data, and references

3. Current - When was it written or updated?
   → Prefer recent sources for science/current events

4. Purpose - Why was it created?
   → Inform? Sell? Entertain? Watch for bias or ads

5. Relevance – Does it answer your research question?

​Evaluating a Source

1. Authority

2. Accuracy

3. Current

4. Purpose

5. Relevance

​Verifying Credibility

Look at the web address (URL)

→ It ends with .gov — that means it’s a government website
Check who made the site

→ At the top it says “Department of Commerce
Think about the purpose

→ The page says K-12 Education, which means it’s made to teach students, not sell something.

​Verifying Credibility

• Organization Names
  → Look for real agencies or groups (example: NOAA, NASA, U.S. Department of Commerce).

• Contact Information
  → Links mean you can reach real staff — not a fake site.

• Education or Research Links

• Policy and Privacy Links

• Official Logos and Icons

Multiple Choice

You’re researching volcanic eruptions and find two sites:

USGS.gov (U.S. Geological Survey) — written by scientists with photos, data, and safety tips.

VolcanoExplorersBlog.com — written by a traveler who describes how “awesome” eruptions look.

Which is the more credible source and why?

• VolcanoExplorersBlog.com — because it has less to read

• USGS.gov — because it’s written by scientists at a government agency

• VolcanoExplorersBlog.com — because it has more pictures

• USGS.gov — because it has an American flag on the site

Multiple Choice

You find an article titled “10 Amazing Parasites That Could Live Inside You!” on a site called BuzzNature.net.
The article ends with pop-up ads for bug spray and vitamins.

Why should you double-check this source before using it?

• It might be trying to sell products, not share accurate science

• It has too many fun facts

• It doesn’t have any pictures

• It talks about parasites

Multiple Choice

A site about earthquakes has links at the bottom for “About Us,” “Contact,” “Privacy Policy,” and a logo for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

What does this tell you about the website?

• It’s just a fan site for earthquake videos

• It’s a random social media page

• It’s a company that sells safety helmets

• It’s a credible science organization

​Now It’s Your Turn to Practice!

We just practiced evaluating Fire Tornado sources together using our Credibility Checklist.

Now, you’ll apply the same skills to your own research topic!

You’ll find three credible sources that could help you answer your smaller research questions.

1️⃣ Go to our shared Padlet for this lesson.
2️⃣ Find the column with your topic.
3️⃣ Add a post for each of your three credible sources.
4️⃣ Under each source, list at least three indicators of credibility using the checklist:

Building Our Source Wall

Under each source, list at least three indicators of credibility using the checklist:
• Who is the author or organization?
• What is the purpose of the site?
• Is the URL reliable (.gov, .edu, etc.)?
• Is the info current and accurate?
• Can you find contact or ownership info?

Building Our Source Wall

Poll

You’ve finished finding your three credible sources — great job!

Poll Question: Which part of the Credibility Checklist helped you most when deciding which sources to trust?

• Source or Author

• Purpose

• URL / Web Address

• Accuracy / Currency

• Contact / Ownership