Finding Reliable Websites
How do you know what information online is trustworthy? Do what fact checkers do, and use Lateral Reading.
When you come across an unfamiliar online source:
Open a new tab in your browser.
Search the name of the unfamiliar source.
Check what trustworthy sites say about it.
If the source seems untrustworthy, don't waste your time on it. Find a better source.
from Lateral Reading Poster developed by Civic Online Reasoning & Stanford History Education Group
Using Websites
It is important to evaluate all information you encounter, but it is especially important to be critical of the information you find on the web. Does it pass the CRAAP test?
Currency: Is the site up-to-date and edited regularly?
Relevancy: Who is the intended audience for this information and is the information unique?
Authority: Who is the author and what are his or her credentials? Is there contact information? Is it a company, organization, or university?
Accuracy: Where does this information come from? Are there sources listed? Are there typos or spelling or grammar errors?
Purpose: Why was this site created? Is it intending to sell a product? What is the domain name (.edu, .gov, .com, .org)?
- CRAAP TestDownload a PDF of this guide to use in your online research
Recommended Websites
Health Information & Diseases
- MedlinePlusFrom the National Institutes of Health, find information on health, disorders, diseases, and drugs. Information begins at a basic level, with links to more scholarly sources.
- National Institutes of HealthHealth information from the US government, find resources about all aspects of health, health care, and medicine.
- World Health Organization (WHO)Get health topic information, videos, toolkits, data, and statistics on a variety of topics from the leading international health authority, WHO.
Medical Images
- MedPix: National Library of MedicineFree open-access online database of medical images, teaching cases, and clinical topics.
Science News
- ScienceDailyScience news from universities and researchers around the world, updated daily and including articles, images, video, and links to journal articles.
- Science NewsWebsite for the magazine, Science News.
- Scientific AmericanWebsite for Scientific American magazine. Check out current issues in the library!
Medical & Healthcare Statistics
- National Center for Health StatisticsStatistics of public health importance. Links are provided to publications that include the statistics presented, to sources of more data, and to related web pages. Provided through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
- FastStats (CDC)Quick access to data from the National Center for Health Statistics in an easy-to-read format.
- World Health Statistics (WHO)Annual data from the World Health Organization's 193 member states covering all aspects of health (life expectancy, mortality, infectious disease, health coverage, etc.).