A Student’s Guide to Evaluating Internet Sources and Information
To evaluate the accuracy of the information in Internet resources, you should ask:
- Are specific sources cited by the author? And if so, are they reliable? Check the bibliography, footnotes, or reference list.
- Can another source verify the information? Ensure that the information is available from more than one source.
- Did editors or reviewers fact-check the information?
- Does the information contain spelling or grammar errors? Poorly written content may indicate poorly researched information.
- Evaluating Sources: Accuracy
- Evaluating Sources for Accuracy
- Finding Accurate Information on the Internet
Authority
To evaluate whether an Internet resource is authoritative, you should ask:
- Does the website display the author's name and credentials? Is the author part of a respected organization or institution, such as a university?
- Who oversees the website?
- What was the purpose of creating the website? Check the "about" or "background" sections to find out where the information originates.
- What type of website is it? Personal blogs or social media websites like Facebook and Twitter will require you to closely review the author's level of experience to determine authority.
- What type of domain is the information on? Domains that end in .edu, .com, .biz, .gov, and .org can give you an insight into a website's credibility.
- How Do I Know if My Sources Are Credible/Reliable?
- Evaluating Authority of Websites and Blogs
- Evaluating a Website or Publication's Authority
Bias
To evaluate whether an Internet resource has a bias, you should ask:
- Is the information presented fact-based or opinion-based? Review the citations.
- Does the information have a political or religious motivation? Check sections titled "about," "purpose," or "mission statement" to evaluate the author's purpose in creating the information.
- Is the information on the website presented to entertain or inform?
- Does the information contain advertisements for a brand, product, or service, or are they separate from the content?
- How Biased Information on the Internet Can Influence Research
- How to Evaluate Bias in Information Sources
- Scholarly Voice: Avoiding Bias
Coverage
To evaluate how comprehensive the coverage of Internet resources is, you should ask:
- Is any relevant information excluded from the page? Check all pages on a website or any relevant links to search for missing information.
- Does the coverage of the subject matter go in depth? Are enough details provided?
- Who is the intended audience for the information? Information created for students or the general public may not be sufficiently detailed.
- Is the information presented on a commercial website? Be wary of sites that require you to pay for access to all of the information.
- Is the website the best available source for the information? More comprehensive coverage may be found in other sources.
- Find Better Coverage and Trace Claims Back to the Original Source
- How to Determine the Scope of Coverage
- Evaluating Internet Sources: Coverage
Currency
To evaluate how current an Internet resource is, you should ask:
- When was the information first published?
- Has the page been kept up to date? If a page contains several broken links, that may indicate that the information has not been updated in a while.
- How current does the information need to be to meet your research needs?
- Evaluating Website Currency
- Online Sources: Currency, Relevance, and Authority
Additional Reading on Evaluating Internet Resources
- Georgetown University Library: Evaluating Internet Resources
- Evaluating the Quality of Online Information
- Evaluating Internet Information
- Evaluating Internet Sources
- Evaluating Online Resources: The Complete Beginner's Guide
- Evaluating Online Information
- Is Your Source CRAAP-Tested?
- Evaluate Your Sources
- Evaluating Digital Sources
- Criteria for Evaluating Web Resources
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Dave is a digital marketing manager at Qualtrics and writes on a wide range of topics aimed at providing useful information to our diverse audience. He lives in Dublin, Ireland and is an avid martial arts, sports, music, and technology enthusiast.
