Given the current trend of “fake news” stories, David Lam Library wanted to shed light on its library resources which offer access to trustworthy sources of information. The library subscribes to over 50 online business databases which pool quality information from a variety of reputable sources. You can find information ranging from current news (eg. Factiva database), company reports (eg. Mergent database), consumer trends (eg. Passport GMID database), industry reports (eg. IBIS World database), and countless scholarly and peer-reviewed articles (eg. Business Source Complete database), in addition to many other types of business information. Instead of worrying about whether something you find on the Internet comes from a reputable source, why not check out some of the databases listed above? If you are not sure where to start or how to search these databases, be sure to drop by the research help desk, Monday to Friday, 1-4 pm to obtain help from a reference librarian.
If you are not sure whether something you read online falls under the category of “fake news”, here is a possible checklist to follow:
1. Do you know who the source is, or was it created by a common or well-known source? Example National Geographic, Discovery, etc.
2. How does it compare to what you already know?
3. Does the information make sense? Do you understand the information?
4. Can you verify that the information agrees with three or more other sources that are also reliable?
5. Have experts in the field been connected to it or authored the information?
6. How current is the information?
7. Does it have a copyright?
Happy searching!