Check if Information Found Online is Reliable

Confirming Statements via Reliable Sources

Finding Reliable Online Sources

When seeing information online, it is important to not just blindly trust the sources and, if in doubt, to fact check with other, known reliable sources.
In this WebQuest you will learn how to confirm information via reliable sources.

  1. Write down 5 statements (it doesn’t matter if they are right or wrong) that you can confirm or disprove via online sources.
  2. For each statement, (dis)prove their validity via two reliable online sources.
  3.  Show why you think the sources you used are reliable.
  1. The statements you gather can either be in relation to your PE business or business sector or contentions on other topics that are good for online research.
  2. Most statements can either confirmed or disproved, this should also be true for the contentions you collected in Task 1. Using articles, reports, blogs, etc., check the validity of your statements. Make sure to use only reliable sources.
  3. Why are your used sources reliable? For each of your sources, state at least one reason why it is reliable.

Here you can check if the facts are reliable:

FactCheck

Google Tooolbox

Knowledge:

  • Not to trust all statements you find online;
  • Knowing there are ways to confirm or disprove statements.

Skills:

  • Confirming if information is valid via reliable online sources;
  • Differentiating between valid and invalid information and search possibilities.

This WebQuest shows you that not every information found online is true and how to make sure that information is reliable via research.

With any and everyone being able to publish online content, it is important to know which sources have a good reputation and are trustworthy.
In this WebQuest you will create a list of online sources that are widely known as trustworthy.

  1. Brainstorm: What reputable online sources do you think you know?
  2. Research 5 signs of reliable sources
  3. Fact check: Use a search engine of your choice to confirm if your collected sources are reliable. Add remarks to your list if the sources are reliable or not.
  4. Make a list of 5 online sources that are generally regarded as trustworthy.
  1. Everyone has their preferred websites, publications or people they trust for different topics. What websites do you think are trustworthy?
  2. A search for signs of reliable websites usually delivers multiple results. Check different sources for results that come up multiple times to have a higher probability of the results being reliable.
  3. For some websites, especially well known and public ones, independent third parties do fact-checks and keep statistics about the validity of published information. Combining this with a general overview of search results should be a good indicator of a website’s reliability as a source.
  4. Multiple independent institutions and websites do research and publish lists of reliable websites. Double-checking these institutions can provide a good list of reliable sources for research.

Here you can check good tools to confirm the sources:

Differentiate a good source from a bad source 

Credible Sources

Knowledge:

  • Not all online sources are reliable
  • Knowing reliable sources

Skills:

  • Identifying online sources as reliable
  • Researching reliability of online sources

This WebQuest teaches you that not all online sources are reliable and how to research which sources are reliable and which are not.