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Evaluating Web Sources

Special considerations for Web sites

Evaluating all sources used in research is essential, but there are some special guidelines you should follow when evaluating Web sites:

Question to Ask	Why Is It Important?	Where to Find It?
Who wrote the document?	Your source should be reliable.	On the Web page
On whose Web site does the document appear?	If the organization is biased or has an agenda, you need to scrutinize the material very carefully.	Ask a reference librarian for help locating information on organizations.
Can you verify the information elsewhere?	You want information that can be verified in more than one source.	Look at other sources; If a Web site states that a cure for diabetes has been found, you should be able to find that same information in another source.
When was the page last updated?	Currency of information is essential for some topics such as science and medicine. If you are doing research on current treatments for diabetes, you want current information.	On the Web page.

Bad signs

The Web site on treatments for diabetes was last updated in 1997.
You find a Web site stating the United States has declared war on Canada, but you cannot find any information in any other news source verifying the fact.

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