In 2008, Google stated that it had indexed over one trillion webpages (it's obviously only gotten bigger since then).
How big is a trillion, really? Well, if you placed a trillion $1 bills into a stack, the stack would be over 67,000 miles high. Now imagine there are a few $10,000 bills in that stack (the information you're trying to find), but in a stack that big they look a lot like the $1 bills. So - how do you tell which are the $1 bills and which are the $10,000 bills?
This handy acronym - CRAP - can help you determine whether what you find on the web is trustworthy or not:
| C - CURRENCY |
- Is there a date or copyright? |
| R - RELIABILITY |
- Is the information error-free? (Facts, grammar, spelling, etc.) |
| A - AUTHORITY |
- Is there an author? What are their credentials? |
| P - POINT OF VIEW |
- Is there a bias or slant to the information presented? |
These websites can help you evaluate the bias or "slant" of a particular new story:
While Wikipedia is a useful tool it is generally not acceptable to use a source in research papers. Try these sources instead:
The U.S. government produces a wide variety of useful information published by federal departments and agencies:
