Six Tips for Evaluating Internet Sources

Make sure you are in the right place.
Does this site address the topic you are researching? Was the page worth visiting?

When in doubt, doubt.
Do you have good reason to believe that the information on the site is accurate? Do authors provide any supportive evidence for their conclusions?

Consider the source.
Who are the authors of the Web page? What gives them their authority or expertise to write? Who is responsible for the site? Is this a commercial, governmental, personal, or academic Web site?

Know what's happening.
What is the purpose of the site? Is the main purpose to inform, to persuade, or to sell you something? Do you understand what is being said? What do you think has not been said?

Look at details.
Is the site well-organized? Are there misspelled words or examples of poor grammar? Do the links work and are they evaluated or annotated? Do they send you beyond the site to other reliable sources of information? Does the site offer anything unique, or does it tell you little more than you could find in an encyclopedia? Are the graphics on the page clear and helpful or distracting and confusing?

Distinguish Web pages from pages found on the Web.
Do you think this page was designed for the Web, or do you think it was originally something else? If it was originally something else, what something else was it?