When you evaluate information, you need to do it a little differently depending on the type of resource you're looking at, but how do you know the difference between an academic resource and a popular resource.
An academic/scholarly resource:
- Is generally written by faculty members, medical doctors, and scholars for the purpose of scholarship
- Uses technical language that is not intended to be understand by the general populace, but rather an expert in the field in which it is published
- Often will go through the peer review process, which is intended to ensure the validity of the resource:
A popular resource:
- Is ordinarily written by a professional journalist or writer, and is intended to be read by a general populace (rather than experts in the field)
- Written in easily understood language and cover broader topics
- Are not evaluated by experts in the field
- Lack a list of resources that were referenced by the author during the writing process
A web source:
- Is accessible directly through Google
- Can be written and published by anyone (whether they are from the government, a college or institution, or if they have no credentials at all)
- Does not go through any vetting at all, whether it be peer-review or an editor
