Evaluating Internet Resources

When conducting research using the Web, whether you are writing a paper, preparing a class presentation, or completing a homework assignment, it is very important that you critically evaluate the information that you have located before you present your research findings. The following questions all play a role in determining the value of the information you locate.

• the purpose of the web site (educational, recreational, corporate, government)
• the authority of those who built and continue to maintain the site (scientists, government statisticians, business marketers, part-time college students having fun)
• the timeliness of the information that you discover (when was this page last updated?)

Online Guides

Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask

From the University of California, Berkeley, this guide lists a wide number of criteria that you need to apply before using Web content in your research.

Evaluating Internet Sources and Sites: a tutorial

This tutorial guide and checklist from the Purdue University Libraries illustrates the components of a Web document, lists the important elements to consider when evaluating a document, and provides a checklist of items to consider.

Evaluating Information Found on the Internet

From the Libraries of Johns Hopkins University, this guide includes suggestions for determining the value of resources - authorship, reliability, accuracy, and currency, for example.

Web Evaluation Criteria

From the University of Washington's Foster Business Library, this guide includes critical questions students need to answer before including Web-based materials in original research.