Skip to Main Content

Business & Economics: Web Resources

Evaluating Sources

Are the sources you use credible and useful, accurate, and reliable?

It is your responsibility to evaluate information sources.

Three factors to look at include: authority, scope, and accuracy.

This video is from the North Carolina University Libraries and is used under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.  

  • Look at the URL and determine the type of domain (.com; .edu; .gov; .org).
  • Identify who created the site; this information may or may not be listed on the website.
  • Find the author's or publisher's credentials; this information may or may not be listed on the website. On many websites, the section titled "About Us" will provide this information.
  • Consider the purpose of the site.
  • Find out when the site was created and how frequently it's updated. Check to see when it was last updated. Older information may or may not be useful to you.
  • Determine if the website provides unbiased information and/or covers more than one side of the topic.
  • Try to evaluate if the information is factual or opinion.
  • Consider whether the information can be verified elsewhere.

Web Resources

2 ways to search SIC:

  • Keyword search. (note: terms must match exactly) Tip: If you're having difficulty, try using truncation. For example, type camp* to search campgrounds, campsites, camping, etc.
  • Browse. Click on the SIC Manual link to view all industry sectors.

Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes are four-digit codes used to identify an industry. Many resources use these codes to identify a company’s activities, index companies by activity, and to define industry data and information. For information on the history of the SIC codes and information about its replacement, the NAICS, visit the NAICS Association web site at left. An excellent web site for a list of SIC codes and to search for a code is the OSHA site from the U.S. Department of Labor.