LibGuides: Library Guide for Student Athletes: Finding Reliable Sources Online

List of Quality Government Sources

U.S. Census Homepage
Homepage for the United States Census. Includes links to a number of different facets of information. Also includes statistics from the American Community Survey.
Center For Disease Control (CDC)
Government site that houses reports, statistics and news items. Includes just about anything involving disease, mortality, natality, abortion, accidents and safety
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
Nonpartisan analysis for the U.S. Congress
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Archive of justice stats, great for CJ research. Includes statistics about criminal trials and prisons and other aspects of crime and law enforcement. There are numerous surveys containing data from a wide range of subjects and specific elements of the Justice System
Bureau of Labor Statistics Homepage
This is the homepage the the United States Bureau of Labors Statistics conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor
Government Accountability Office
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. Often called the "congressional watchdog," GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars. The head of GAO, the Comptroller General of the United States, is appointed to a 15-year term by the President from a slate of candidates Congress proposes
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)
It is the mission of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans. We fulfill that mission by providing for effective health and human services and fostering advances in medicine, public health, and social services.

Online Open Internet Sources

WHAT ONLINE SOURCES CAN YOU TRUST?

In this day in age of enormous amounts of information online, it can be difficult to decipher which online sources you can trust! Here are a few strategies to know what you can trust and what you can't

1.) REMEMBER that ANY link you find on the McGrath Library Website is a link to a quality source. There are many options for finding articles through our subscription databases, and those databases are filled with safe materials to use for research! We also have a page dedicated to Open Internet Sources that are safe to use (Government Sources, Organizational Sources, News Sources, & Education Sources).

McGrath Library Open Internet Sources Web Page
This page has a large list, broken up by subject, of online websites you can use that are safe

2.) Use government sources! All government websites end in .gov Examples include: Census Bureau, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), Center for Disease Control (CDC), Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), & Government Accountability Office (GAO). All of these sites in in .gov

3.) Use organizational sources. Many of the organizational websites are quality sources that are safe to use as sources. These websites end in .org HOWEVER, some organizational sources are very biased. To be safe ask a librarian!

3.) Avoid .com websites unless you specifically need information from that commercial website. Most commercial sites have an agenda that is based on monetary profit, rather than quality information.

4.) Avoid websites with a .com address and advertisements. (Exception: News agencies).

5.) If you are still skeptical, ask a librarian, OR do a Google search to see if the information you received from a website is repeated elsewhere

What Questions Should You Ask About a Source?

BE SURE TO ASK THESE QUESTIONS ABOUT EVERY ONLINE SOURCE YOU COME ACROSS

•WHO Created the source?
•Is there an Author?
•Are there Credentials?
•What kind of Credentials?

•WHEN was the Source Created?
•Is Date Relevant to your topic?
•Is There a Date?

•WHY Was the Source Created?
•Inform
•Entertain
•Sell for Profit

•WHO Was the Source Created For?
•Professionals
•Consumers
•Experts, Scholars & Students

•Are There Other Sources Cited to Support the Argument?
•Are There Advertisements?