Research Guides: Emergency Management and Homeland Security: Websites/ News

Evaluating Information

Whatever you read or view, you should always maintain a healthy skepticism about both its authority and reliability.

A commercial publisher's editorial department provides a filter between you and the information it publishes to help ensure that it is authoritative and accurate. Libraries provide another filter with the process of selecting the published materials for that library's collection.

Those filters in no way excuse you from evaluating what you see or read for yourself, but they do provide some insurance. T

raditional information evaluation criteria are:

Accuracy How reliable is the information? Are there editors?
Authority Is the author a subject specialist? What are his/her qualifications? How responsible is the publisher?
Objectivity Is there any bias evident in the information? Is the information trying to persuade the opinion of the audience?
Currency Is the content up-to-date? Is the publication date readily available?
Coverage What subjects are covered in the material and to what depth?

Here's more information about evaluating web sites:

Evaluating Web Pages: Questions to Consider

Websites

Department of Homeland Security
A United States federal agency created in 2002 by combining 22 different federal departments and agencies into a single department focused on United States security.
EM-DAT: The International Disaster Database
Database providing data on over 22,000 mass disasters in the word since 1900.
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Responsible for responding to all domestic man-made or natural disasters that occur within the United States, FEMA helps coordinate the government to prepare and recover from these disasters.
Homeland Security Digital Library
Provides access to "the nation’s premier collection of documents related to homeland security policy, strategy, and organizational management."
International Association of Emergency Managers
A group which promotes the "Principles of Emergency Management" and represents "professionals whose goals are saving lives and protecting property and the environment during emergencies and disasters."
National Emergency Management Association
A professional association for emergency management directors in the United States. Provides information, support and expertise to "emergency management professionals at all levels of government and the private sector who prepare for, mitigate, respond to, recover from, and provide products and services for all emergencies, disasters, and threats to the nation’s security."
National Hazard Mitigation Association (NHMA)
The National Hazard Mitigation Association (NHMA) promotes natural hazard risk reduction & climate adaptation through planning, adaptation, and mitigation.
NIOSH Emergency Preparedness and Response Resources
Provides guidance from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health for protecting the health and safety of emergency workers during responses to disasters or emergency events.
Organization of American States: Natural Disaster
As a top priority, the Organization of American States (OAS) undertakes a multilateral approach to prevention, mitigation, and response through tools, entities, instruments, and resources to support effective and efficient disaster management and recovery in the Americas. Through its extensive technical experience and unique convening power, the OAS plays an important role in building capacity for disaster preparedness and response and facilitating international disaster response.
Ready.gov
Prepares Americans to respond / mitigate both natural and man-made disasters.

Emergency Management and Homeland Security

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RefWorks

Evaluating Information

Websites