19 Activity: Find Top Authorities for a Subject

Get together in small groups, and by both pooling group knowledge and doing research, develop a list of three authoritative books/websites for information on one of the following subjects:

• Lead Poisoning in Homes
• American Hate Groups
• Weight Loss
• Nuclear Policy
• Philosophy of Stoicism
• Civil War and Race
• The Deficit and Deficit Spending

Your sources should be:

• Written, edited, or curated by people with a high-level of subject expertise
• Have a process in place that ensures accuracy and verification

Or, the sources should be:

• Written and published by someone with a reputation for accuracy
• Informed by a broad array of expert interviews and perspectives

When each group has finished their selection, trade your list of expert books/sites with another group and have that group critique the list.

Some questions for reflection:

• Do the best sources show up at the top of Google search results?
• If not, what does show up? Why do you think that result shows up instead?