When you are evaluating research websites, follow these easy steps to SIFT through information:
Stop. What do you already know about this website? Is it generally a trusted source? Does it have a particular bias?
Investigate. Is the website or author an expert or authority? What do you know about the author of this information?
Find trusted coverage. If you see some interesting or relevant information on an unfamiliar website, can you find similar information on a trusted site?
Trace your information back to the original source, if possible. Who first said this quote or made this claim?
You can learn more about the SIFT process here.
Crystalinks: the author is a psychic, not a historian.
Ducksters: not written by subject experts
There are several books related to your topics on a cart by the library staff desk for this project. These will be for in-library use only so all classes can use them. Please do not take these books home, instead you can photocopy pages you need or look through them while in the library.