Evaluate career information before you act.

Start with the claim, not the website

Write the exact statement you need to check. “This sounds like a good program” is too broad. “This diploma accepts Grade 12 English and begins in September” can be verified. “People in this occupation must hold an Ontario licence” can also be verified. A precise claim helps you choose the authority responsible for it.

Use a source for the job it is qualified to do. A school can confirm its own admission requirements. A regulator can confirm whether a title or activity is regulated. A government labour source can summarize an occupation and labour-market information. A worker can describe personal experience, but one person's schedule does not establish what every workplace is like.

Use the five-part CARE test

1. Controller: Is the publisher responsible for the rule, program, credential, or data? If not, locate the responsible source.
2. Age: Find the publication or update date. If none is shown, confirm the claim elsewhere before using it.
3. Region: Check that the information applies to Ontario and to the specific occupation or education route.
4. Evidence: Look for a named dataset, policy, requirement, author, or first-hand role. Notice whether the page explains how it knows.
5. Reason: Identify whether the purpose is public information, recruitment, sales, advocacy, or personal storytelling. Purpose does not automatically make a source wrong, but it changes what needs confirmation.

Build a claim log

For every important claim, record six fields: the claim in your own words; its category; publisher; page link; date reviewed; and a second source or action needed. Use categories such as required, commonly preferred, one possible route, labour information, or personal experience. These labels prevent a common preference from being mistaken for a legal rule.

Worked example: “You need a particular degree”

First, split the claim into two questions: Is a credential legally required to use the occupational title or perform the work? What education do current employers commonly request? Search the responsible Ontario regulator or government page for the first question. Review a small group of current job postings and official education pages for the second. If no regulator governs the work, label that result clearly rather than treating the absence of one search result as proof.

Your conclusion might read: “I did not find a regulated degree requirement in the responsible public sources I checked. The job postings I reviewed asked for different combinations of education, skills, and experience. I should compare the actual entry requirements of two programs and build evidence of the requested skills.” That conclusion is narrower and more useful than repeating the original claim.

Warning signs that require another source

• No author, publisher, update date, or geographic scope
• A guaranteed job, salary, admission, or licensing result
• A statistic with no named source or time period
• A school comparison written by a provider selling one option
• A personal story presented as a universal pathway
• A copied summary that never links to the responsible authority

Finish the assignment

Select three sources that answer different parts of your career question. Record one supported fact from each and one limitation. Mark any disagreement instead of hiding it. Your goal is not to collect the most links; it is to know which evidence is strong enough for the next decision.

Last reviewed August 13, 2026.