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When an individual is responsible for the information on a website or in a video, we can dive straight into investigating these questions:
Are they an expert on the topic? (In this example, an expert on causes of climate change.)
Are they an expert at providing information, known for reporting fairly and accurately?
Find out more about what makes someone an expert on a topic -->
This is an example of a "DIY" information source: someone has created their own website.
The best way to determine if an individual is responsible for an information source is to check the "About" section (see below).
There are some clues on the site itself that tell us this person is most likely an expert on climate change:
He's a professional oceanographer with a Ph.D
He works for NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which you can search up to learn more about why this is a good credential to have)
But, just to make sure, we can do a quick search for his name, adding [noaa] to the search to make sure we get the right person.
This shows that he really does work for NOAA (isn't just claiming that he does)
And he has a long list of publications (this is just an excerpt)
While having an advanced degree, a high-level job, and a lot of publications in a particular subject area are not the only ways to be an expert about something, they're the best credentials for showing someone is an expert on this particular topic.
Sometimes it's not immediately clear that an individual is responsible for the information. In this case, all we have is the name of the YouTube channel.
A search shows us that it is indeed an individual who's responsible for the channel. Now we can investigate him.
Again, this is just an excerpt from Derek Muller's Wikipedia page, but there are enough clues here to show he's an expert at providing information:
He's won a bunch of awards for science communication
His work is in publications that have good reputations (you can search them up to be sure)
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?
Not every individual creates their own website or YouTube channel. Some post information on self-publishing platforms like this one. The reason this slide deck would NOT be a good information source for a school research assignment is that we have no way of knowing who posted it.
LEEENNA has given us no information about who they are or what their credentials are.
Mr Browning is also a mysterious figure. He's probably a geography teacher. Is he a good teacher? Is he an expert on climate change? Does he have a reputation for representing the truth fairly and accurately? We have no way to find out.
And, while it's true that popularity is not an indicator of reliability as an information provider, 14 subscribers is NOT enough to make this individual's video a possible information source for a school research assignment.
One more thing that could go wrong is that an individual might be an expert about something--just not an expert about the topic you're researching.
UpIsNotJump might be an excellent source of information about Fallout or Skyrim, but there's no evidence he has any expertise about climate change.
His take on the causes of climate change might be interesting, but NOT a good information source for a school research assignment.
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