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Evaluating internet resources
The wealth and diversity of information available on the Web, while tempting, still exists outside of the traditional channels of scholarly information generation. Many institutions of higher education have developed guidelines for the responsible evaluation of online sources. Here are ours:
#1 Authority
- Is it clear who is responsible for the contents of the page?
- Is the author qualified to write on this topic? Are qualifications made clear?
- Does the author provide contact information: phone, postal, email, etc.?
- Is this page part of a larger website? If so, is it clear who is responsible for providing the information?
#2 Objectivity
- Does the page claim to be objective? If so, do you agree?
- Does the page recognize a bias, while granting that other points of view may exist?
- Does the page contain advertising? If so, does the advertising affect the page's objectivity or stated bias?
#3 Connectivity
- Does the page refer to outside sources, as you would expect from a journalist or scholar?
- Are non-internet sources (books, articles, etc.) clearly cited?
- If links to related materials are included, do they connect to reliable sites?
#4 Coverage
- Do the contents cover all aspects of the topic?
- If all aspects are covered, does the page make clear what is missing? Does it tell you where to locate additional information to round out your research?
- Are the contents specific, including citations, examples and case studies?
#5 Currency
- Does the page indicate when the contents were created or first made available online?
- Does the page indicate when it was last updated? How important is currency to this topic?