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Evaluating Information Found on the Internet

 

Print sources (magazine articles, journal articles, and books) go through a filtering process such as editing and peer review. Information on the World Wide Web, however, is mostly unfiltered. Anyone can create and publish a web page, and can choose to put anything they wish in their Web document (including bad information).  Therefore, you must evaluate Web sources very carefully before including them in your research. Use the following checklist to help you evaluate the information you find on the World Wide Web:

 

Author

  • Who is the author of the document?
  • Is the author the original creator of information?
  • Does the author list his or her credentials (occupation, years of experience, position, education)?
  • Do you feel this person is qualified to write on the given topic?

 

Affiliation

 

  • What institution, company, university, government agency, association, or Internet provider supports this information? (Check the URL domain, which names the organization feeding information in to the server: .com commercial, .org organization, .edu educational, .gov government, .mil military, .net network.) Websites with the domains .org, .edu, and .gov are generally reliable Web sources.
  • Use the back button on your browser to figure out from where the Web page was linked.
  • Is it an institution that you are familiar with?
  • Does this institution appear to filter (edit or review) the information appearing under its name?
  • Does the author’s affiliation with this institution appear to bias the information?
  • If it is from an educational institution, is it an assignment by a student? If so, it may not be as reliable.

Document

 

  • When was this information created or last updated?
  • What is the intended audience for this information (children, students, professionals, general
  • readers, etc.)?
  • What is the purpose of the information (to inform, persuade, explain, advertise)?

 

Overall Evaluation

 

  • Considering the above points, do you think the information in this document is appropriate for your topic or research needs?
  • Would you recommend this Web site to another person needing the same information?