Websites

It is very important to evaluate websites carefully before using their content in your course work.  (You should also check with your instructor to make sure that information gained from the Internet is acceptable for your assignment.)  The Internet is a valuable information resource because anyone can make information available to the masses quickly and easily.  For the very same reason, because it is possible for anyone to post anything and make it look authoritative, it is important that you confirm that the information you glean from the Internet is reliable and up-to-date.  The Internet is a good place to go when looking for a quick overview or to gain a basic understanding before moving ahead with more in depth research after gaining some small amount of knowledge.

The Internet is great for finding information about academic institutions and government organizations.  It also great for current events and news stories.  There are probably better places to find scholarly journal articles and books.

Before you use information from a webpage, ask yourself the following questions:

• Who posted this?  Does the author make himself or herself evident?  Do they provide contact information?  Are they academics or experts? Can you confirm their credentials with another search?
• When was this posted? Is it current? Do the publishers update the information regularly?
• With what type of organization is the information associated?  Is it academic, commercial, government, professional, or philanthropic? What is the suffix of the site? An .edu is associated with an academic institution (but students also often have webspaces, so watch carefully).  A .gov site is related to United States government.  Other sites such as .org (organizations) and .com (commercial sites) are probably less reliable.
• Can this information be confirmed by another trusted source?  Does it appear to have been reviewed by authoritative sources? Does it line up with the rest of your research on the subject? Is it common sense?

You can learn more about evaluating web sources with the following tutorials:

Using the Web

Evaluating Sources

Misconceptions about the Internet

These websites also have a lot more information about choosing websites wisely:

How to Find Good Information on the Web - Shelton State Community College

Critically Analyzing Information Sources  - Cornell University Library

Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages - Cornell University Library

The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly - New Mexico State University Library

Great Places to Search the Web:

Google Scholar - Searches scholarly literature citations, abstracts, and some full-text.

Google Government and Academic Search - Searches only websites in .edu and .gov domains.

Librarians' Internet Index - Index of websites compiled and approved by librarians.

Internet Public Library - Directory of quality websites put together by librarians.

Search these sites: