Research Guides: ENG 102: Just Mercy: Websites

CRAAP Test

How to Evaluate Internet Sources

Anyone can create a website on the Internet. There is no formal evaluation process. When searching the Web, you will have to evaluate the websites you find. Use this list to help you do that.

Currency

Is the information provided current?
Is the page being maintained? Check the bottom of the page for a date.
Do the links work and are they current?

Reliability

Databases and links to websites found on Library pages have been checked and can be trusted to be reliable.
Websites located through a search engine like Google or Yahoo may not be accurate or current, evaluate them carefully.
If the website was recommended by a faculty member, cited in a scholarly or credible source, or linked from a credible website, it should be reliable.

Authority

Who is the author of the site? Look in the About section.
Does the author list credentials, such as affiliations, degrees or certifications?
Is the site affiliated with a reputable organization?
Is there contact information on the site?

Accuracy

Is the vocabulary professional or casual? Are there spelling and grammar errors?
Is the information factual, opinion or propaganda?
Are there sources, citations or a bibliography?
Is the website objective or is there a particular point of view or bias?
Does the page contain advertising? Are advertisements disguised as information?

Purpose

What is the purpose of the website? Is it to inform, teach, sell, entertain or persuade?
Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
Does the website support a particular political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional or personal agenda?
The domain in the URL can provide clues about the site's purpose. Some common domains are:

.org : An advocacy organization site. It may have biases.

.com : A business or commercial site. They are trying to sell something.

.edu : A site affiliated with a college or university.

.gov : A site sponsored by a federal government agency.

Websites

Equal Justice Initiative
Bryan Stevenson is the executive director of Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit organization that provides legal representation to indigent defendants and prisoners who have been denied fair treatment in the legal system. This website features reports, personal stories, fact sheets, statistics, and multimedia relating to the work done through EJI.
NAACP
Formed in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is a civil rights organization. They have a number of resources on their website.
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a non-profit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation
ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States"
Black Freedom Struggle in the United States
"ProQuest’s openly available Black Freedom Struggle website features 2,000 expertly selected primary source documents – historical newspaper articles, pamphlets, diaries, correspondence and more – from pivotal eras in African American history. These reliable, easily discoverable materials are ideal for Black History Month projects, assignments and inspiration."
Thurgood Marshall Institute
"The Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multidisciplinary center within the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Launched in 2015, the Institute complements LDF’s traditional litigation strengths and brings critical capabilities to the fight for racial justice, including research and targeted advocacy campaigns. The Institute also houses LDF’s Archives—a collection of materials chronicling the legal history of the Civil Rights Movement."
National Registry of Exonerations
The National Registry of Exonerations is a project of the Newkirk Center for Science & Society at University of California Irvine, the University of Michigan Law School and Michigan State University College of Law. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. The Registry provides detailed information about every known exoneration in the United States since 1989—cases in which a person was wrongly convicted of a crime and later cleared of all the charges based on new evidence of innocence. The Registry also maintains a more limited database of known exonerations prior to 1989.
Death Penalty Information Center
"The Death Penalty Information Center is a national non-profit organization serving the media and the public with analysis and information on issues concerning capital punishment. Founded in 1990, the Center promotes informed discussion of the death penalty by preparing in-depth reports, conducting briefings for journalists, and serving as a resource to those working on this issue. The Center releases an annual report on the death penalty, highlighting significant developments and featuring the latest statistics. The Center also produces groundbreaking reports on various issues related to the death penalty such as arbitrariness, costs, innocence, and race."
Innocence Project
The Innocence Project is a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.
The Sentencing Project
Established in 1986, The Sentencing Project works for a fair and effective U.S. criminal justice system by promoting reforms in sentencing policy, addressing unjust racial disparities and practices, and advocating for alternatives to incarceration.
Bureau of Justice Statistics
The mission of this U.S. government website is to "collect, analyze, publish, and disseminate information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government." Browse by topic or search by keyword.

ENG 102: Just Mercy

CRAAP Test

Websites

Video Tutorial: A Guide to Searching the Internet