Is My Source Credible?

Part I: Find THREE websites that are useful and credible for your topic. Give the FULL URL as a
link and then answer the questions for all of your sources.

My topic: Fire loving plants & grasses

Website URL 1:Low Flammability Landscape Plants 6.305 - Extension (colostate.edu)

Website URL2: https://www.cal-ipc.org/docs/ip/management/UseofFire.pdf
WebsiteURL3:https://nature.berkeley.edu/matteolab/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/CNPS-fire-recovery-gui
de-LR-0406

Methods for Disposing Non-Native Invasive Plants | Extension (unh.edu)

Extra
4:https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r5/forest-grasslandhealth/invasivespecies/?cid=stelprdb5332128
5:https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/forestry/fire/

Is my source in-depth (more than a page or two), with a summary, a reference list, and documented
research or data?

Website 1: This website has more than a page or two and also a fact sheet document provided.

Website 2: This report has 57 pages and is supported by programs and research centers. The
Workshop Participants are an expert committee of scientists and land managers. It also has data
tables backed up with it.

Website 3: This report has 64 pages and a reference page at the end. Continuing, there are data
tables with it.

Who is the audience (researchers, professors, students, general population, professionals in a

specific field)?
Website 1: The audience for this website are the residents of Colorado and students from the
Colorado State University.
Website 2: The audience for this website would be students and researchers that want a wide variety
of information for controlling invasive plants.

Website 3: The target audience for this website would be scholars and academics looking for a wide range of
information on mananing invansive species
What is the purpose of the source (provide information or report original research or experiments, to
entertain or persuade the general public, or provide news or information specific to a trade or industry)?

Website 1: The purpose of this website is that it has a lot of information and that in the article it had
the source that we needed for example for Attributes that increase flammability below a list of things like high
oil, Low moisture and Tall growth.

Website 2: The purpose of this website they have a chart that has Comparison of factors affecting the
use of fire in croplands and wildlands to control invasive plants so that kind of helps for our project that
we are doing

Website 3: In one of the paragraphs in this website it says that The Fire Recovery Guide was created
to assist landowners who seek to use cutting-edge research and recovery techniques to aid their
property and its residents.

Who are the authors? Are they respected and well-known in the field? Are they easily identifiable? Have
they written about other similar topics? What are their credentials?

Website 1: Yes they are well-known in the field because some of them wrote other reports on similar
topics. For example one of the authors wrote about the low elevation sky of the South Pole. Also some are
professors at universities.

Website 2: All of these authors are from universities or science/research departments. I was able to
find the author and their credentials.

Website 3: These authors are all from academic institution or research related fields. I was able to
locate the author and learn more about them.

Is the source reputable? Is it published on a reputable, non-biased web site, or in a peer-reviewed, scholarly
journal, and not from a newspaper, blog, or wiki?

Website 1: This website is not opinion-based and doesn’t come from a blog or newspaper.

Website 2: This report is reputable because it is also not opinion-based and backed up with statistical
facts.

Website 3: This study is credible since it is supported by statistical data and is not opinion-based.

Is the source current for your topic? How do you know?

Website 1: This source is related to my topic because it provides a solution for how to avoid having
invasive grass around your community. Also the title of the page is Low Flammability Landscape Plants. We
are looking for plants that may be able to replace flammable plants in Maui.

Website 2: This source is perfect for my topic because it has authors that are from departments for
plant science or fire protection. It is also published by the California Invasive Plant Council.
Continuing, there is a section of the report where it is dedicated to controlling invasive plants with
prescribed fires.
 Website 3: This site fits mt theme perfectly because it has information about how fires start and how
can we pervent a fire to not happened again and it also tells us what plants we can plant in our yard
that can collect a lot more water to we don’t have fires because it is so dry that’s why we need to know
what plants can collect water.

Is there supporting documentation (graphs, charts, illustrations, etc)?

Website 1: Yes, there is one illustration on how the management zone works. Also, it provided a PDF
of data tables relating to the topic.

Website 2: Yes, most of the pages have one illustration and others have graphs/charts.

Website 3: Yes, in this article it has a lot of the stuff that we need like what plants we can use in our
yard that collect more water.

PART II Now list One website that pertains to your topic but is NOT credible.

URL: Wildfire - Wikipedia

Explain why this website is questionable? What does or doesn’t it have that make you suspicious?
This website is questionable because there is no author and anyone can edit this website if you create an account. But it does have a
reference list.

Sourced from https://libguides.umgc.edu/credibility

 Reputable & Scientific Sources

Want to weed out the non-reputable sites and focus on those based on facts?
Google Scholar is a good place to start
https://scholar.google.com/

Galileo at University of Georgia - Fact Checking Sites

https://guides.libs.uga.edu/c.php?g=571070&p=4319664