Evaluating Internet Resources

The Internet is a self-publishing medium and not all resources posted on it are valuable or reliable. Unlike print resources such as magazines, journals and books that go through a filtering process information on the Internet is mostly unfiltered.

Web sites are not screened or standardized in any way to determine if the information they provide is accurate or useful. Exercise caution when you're doing research on the Internet as many sites contain inaccurate, out-of-date or false information.

As the Internet evolves so do the criteria for evaluation. The quality of sources and information varies tremendously so you really need to be aware of the information that you are accessing and pay attention to whether it is useful and credible.
Anyone who wants to can post anything they would like to on the Internet!

Authority

Who is the author of the document or web site?
Are his/her affiliations and qualifications given?
Is there contact information (address, phone number, e-mail)?
Who is the publisher or sponsoring organization? Is there a link to their Web site?
What is the relationship between the author and the sponsor/publisher?
Is it a personal home page or institutionally sanctioned? (Hint: A tilde symbol (/~name/) in the URL indicates a personal home page. This does not, however, necessarily mean the information is less authoritative, but it's something to keep an eye out for, especially if you're already in doubt.)
Who sponsors this Web site? Is it a government agency, a university or a corporation? Look at the domain at the end of the Internet address in the location bar to make this determination.

.org Miscellaneous entities that do not fit anywhere else. Typically used for non-profit organizations.
.com Commercial entities.
.gov Agencies and branches of the United States Federal Government. State and local governments in the United States should use a combination of their two-digit state code and the .us country code domain. Example: www.odoc.state.ok.us
.mil United States military entities.
.edu Designated for four-year, degree-granting colleges and universities. K-12 schools should use state code domains, example .ok for Oklahoma.
.net Entities and computers that represent part of the Internet's infrastructure.

Content & Coverage

Does the information appear to be unbiased?
Is the information there to inform, explain, persuade, entertain, or advertise a product or promote a particular point of view?
Is the site simply links to other Web sites or is there original material?
Are the links provided relevant and appropriate?
Does the information have real value?

Currency

Is the content up-to-date?
Is the date of the latest revision posted somewhere on the page?
When was the site last updated?
Do the links from this site work or are they out-of-date?

Access

Does the site have specific hardware or software requirements?
Does it require a specific browser?
Does it take a long time to load?
Is it free to use or is there a fee?
Do you have to register to use the site, even if it is free?

Documentation

Is the information well documented?
Are the sources of information cited and are individual articles or sections signed or attributed?
Can you verify the contents of the page by contacting the author or creator?

Appearance

Does the site make good use of graphics, colors and formatting?
Does the site have typographical errors?
Is it easy to read and navigate?
Is it logically arranged?

Accuracy

Is the information reliable, valid and trustworthy?
Has the information been edited? (spelling and grammar checks)
Are the facts accurate?

Objectivity

Why are the author and publisher providing you with this information?
Is there a hidden agenda to the Web site?
Is the information biased? Is it designed to sway opinion? From who's perspective is it given?
Are they advertising or trying to sell you something?

Test Yourself-What's Wrong with These Sites?

Coalition to Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide www.netreach.net/~rjones/no_dhmo.html
Feline Reactions to Bearded Men www.improb.com/airchives/classical/cat/cat.html