Evaluating Websites

Just because information is found on the Internet does not mean that it is true! When you are researching online for an assignment, you need to check the Internet information for credibility, reliability, and authenticity, so that you are not reporting fraudulent Internet information as the truth.

Consider the following questions carefully when authenticating online information:

1. Authority - Who created the website?

• Is the author(s) of the information clearly stated?

• Are the author's qualifications stated? Is the author affiliated with any organiziations?

• Is the contact information for the author/organization included?

2. Accuracy - Is the information on the Website correct?

• How does the information compare to what you already know?

• Can the information be verified through another source?

• Is the information free of spelling and grammatical errors ?

3. Bias - Does the website offer more than one viewpoint?

• Is the website free of commercial interest?

• What kind of site is it? Is it a:

   

  • non-commericial organization (.org)
  • business organization (.biz)
  • commercial organization (.com)
  • educational organization (.edu)
  • government (.gov)
  • informational organization (.info)
  • network-related company (.net)

4. Currency

• When was the site published and last updated?

5. Coverage and Relevancy

• Are the topics covered in depth?

• Is the information relevant to your topic and research?