Human Resources

Because sources on the web or in social media can be created by anyone, they should always be evaluated for their credibility and authority. A popular benchmark is the AAOCC (Authority, Accuracy, Objectivity, Currency, and Coverage) criteria for evaluating resources:

Authority : Who is the author? 

• Always ask yourself whether the organization sponsoring a particular site is a well known, reliable, and suitable site for the document—a research center, for example, a college or university, or a government office?

Accuracy : How accurate is the source?

• Data and information must be based on observations, measurements, analyses, interpretations and conclusions. All information should be verifiable

Objectivity : How objective is the source?

• Is there a strong point of view or bias? Is there a lot of advertising? Does the language used on this site suggest a specific ideology or social or political agenda? Do they include opposing views?

Currency: What is the site's currency?

• Is the information up-to-date or are the resources outdated? Have they kept up with trends and technology?

Coverage: Does it adequately cover the topic?

• Does the information source leave questions unanswered (ask the "five W's and H" to check: who, what, when, where, why and how)? Consider comparing one source's coverage to another source.