Introduction

As you complete assignments for this class, you may choose to use an article that has been published on a website. The article might be from a government agency, from an online magazine, a research paper from a university or college or an article from a nonprofit organization. Because there are not consistent standards or reviews of information on the Web, you will need to be more attentive to potential bias or to the purpose of the article.

The questions posed on this page and in the Evaluating Web Pages guide will be useful in determining the validity of the information you retrieve from the Web.

Evaluating Web Sites

The following questions are useful in evaluating content on the Web:

Authority

Is it clear who is responsible for the content? Who is the author or what organization is producing the material?

What is the author's background (experience, credentials, other publications, etc.)? Are they clearly provided or do you have to dig for them?

Accuracy and reliability

Has research been properly documented and cited?

Are there grammatical errors?

How long has the site been around? (Use the Internet Archive to find out)

Purpose and objectivity

What is the motivation for this site (educational, promotional, entertainment, etc.)?

Is the site trying to sell you something?

Is there a clear distinction between opinion and fact?

Coverage

Does the site cover a specific time period?

What information is included? Omitted?

Is the page "under construction"?

Currency - is it still relevant?

When was the site last updated or revised?

How often is the content updated?

Are there any dead links?

Sample Web Page

introduction cattle production article