When you're looking for information on the Web for school -- or really any time that you care that what you find is true and up-to-date -- you have to evaluate the website to make sure that you can trust the information on it.
AUTHORITY and ACCURACY:
1. Who is the author of the Web site? Is it a commercial company (.com), an academic institution (.edu), a government agency (.gov), a nonprofit organization (.org), a network of computers (.net), a military site (.mil), or a country-sponsored (.uk) site?
2. What are the qualifications or expertise of the individual/group that created the site? Is the information on the Web site reliable?
3. Is there a postal address or telephone number or just email to contact the author for more information?
4. Is the information free of grammatical, spelling, and typographical errors?
5. Are the sources for any factual information clearly listed so they can be verified in another source?
PURPOSE and CONTENT:
1. What is the purpose of the Web site? To provide research and scholarly information? To provide educational or factual information? Or, is there another purpose?
2. Is there a link to a page describing the goal of the organization, the nature of the company, or purpose of the sponsor?
3. Is the point of view of the author presented in a clear manner with its arguments well-supported?
4. If there is any advertising on the Web page, is it clearly differentiated from the informational content?
CURRENCY:
When was the Web site last updated, revised, or modified? Are any links broken (Error 404 messages)?
