Company websites can provide quite a lot of information, particularly for public companies. Look for the "about us' or "our story", press releases, investor information including presentations and events and filings, annual reports or corporate social responsibility reports. Use information from the company carefully and watch for bias or an overly optimistic interpretation of factual data.
Many governments have corporate regulatory agencies similar to The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), which provide current company information to the public. See below for a selection:
Industry Associations are key information gateways for their industry. Through their membership lists they can identify the major players and stakeholders within the industry. Associations are aware of government regulations, funding opportunities, trends and drivers in their industry.
Evaluate the quality of a range of sources using the CRAAP test.
• Currency: when was it created?
• Relevance: is it on my topic?
• Authority: is it by an expert?
• Accuracy: is it correct?
• Purpose: why was it created?
Evaluate the quality of web and social media sources using the SIFT method.
• Stop - think before using a source.
• Investigate where it is from.
• Find alternative sources.
• Trace claims, quotes and media.
Find out how to verify the factual accuracy of sources using the Fact Checking guide.
• Assess content created by humans and artificial intelligence (AI).
• Learn how to spot fake news.
• Access different fact checking tools.