One of the most challenging aspects of life in the digital age is identifying information that can be relied upon to be both factual and relatively free from bias. Scientific information must also be evaluated for accuracy and bias. Fortunately, there are mechanisms built into the scientific research processes that help ensure one can rely on scientific literature.

This assignment challenges you to seek out information online on a topic assigned to you. Your task is to gather information, record the sources you gather in an APA format, and then to evaluate those sources as Very Reliable, Reliable, Not Reliable, or Highly Questionable. You will evaluate each website for Authority, Purpose, Coverage, Objectivity, and Accuracy.

Instructions:

For this assignment, you are to take a topic from the list below and find TWO sources on your topic. The two sources should either come from a newspaper website, a cable news outlet, a government organization, or an academic journal.

For each source, you should:

Copy and paste the web address for the page
Give a brief paragraph explaining whether you found it reliable or not based on the criteria in the introduction
Create an APA citation for each source. Different sources have different citation formats. Retrieval links are NOT the only format. Read all the way through the instructions found at the Purdue OWL  (Links to an external site.)for each source type.
List of Topics:

Climate change and the impact on flooding in the Midwestern United States
Genetically modified organisms in food production
Deforestation
Alternative energy production in Texas
Plastic pollution in the ocean
Stem cell research and diabetes