Investigate the Source suggests that you need to learn more about a source before you read it and use it.
There are a few ways that you might investigate a source. These tips are meant to be quick and not exhaustive. Often, you just need to decide whether to go forward looking at information or not.
- The Wikipedia Trick: Use Wikipedia to investigate a source on the web. (Example: mcsweeneys.net wikipedia)
- This simple search gives you a basic context about the website, mcsweeneys.net. In this case, it tells you that it is a publishing house, founded in 1998, by Dave Eggers, and includes other information. This Wikipedia entry may be enough for you to decide whether you want to use this source, not use this source, or go further with your investigation. You may want to continue to investigate if you need more or if this trick doesn't find anything.
- Hover in Twitter
- Hover on Twitter to see more about a person or organization. Users with a blue checkmark have been verified by Twitter. Verification is helpful but can be spoofed. You still need to be thoughtful about retweeting. Let's Hover: https://infodemic.blog/2020/02/16/lets-hover/
- Search for Words on a Website
- Use Control-F (pc) or Command-F (mac) to find a word on a website, a document, or most anything. This simple trick will save you lots of time!
- See Caulfield demonstrate feature with Wikipedia: https://youtu.be/oBqEci8eXXA
