Research Guides: Town Hall Research Guide: Evaluating Sources

Evaluating Websites

Researchers generally use websites in two ways:

Research artifact -- Something you're writing about or using as an example. Any website can be used.
Research source -- Primary or secondary sources that support or anchor your claims. Use only trustworthy, authoritative sites.

Your argument is only as credible as your sources.

Fact Checking Sites

If the information you're finding doesn't seems suspicious or biased, use the sites below to fact-check or find alternative news sources.

FactCheck.org
a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.
PolitiFact
funded by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, the site uses the Truth-O-Meter to gauge the veracity of claims
Open Secrets
A watchdog group founded by the Center for Responsive Politics and the National Institute on Money in Politics
Media Bias / Fact Check
Search the names or URL of a new source to read an assessment of how biased it is.
Fair.org
A national media watch group, offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship.

Search smarter with Google Advanced Search

Google Advanced Search

Websites ending with .gov, .org, or .edu are generally not trying to sell you anything, and often provide better information. When you search Google, type one of these into the search field with your keywords:

site:.edu
site:.gov
site:.org