When searching the web for information keep the following in mind:
Currency
- Is the information on the page up-to-date?
- Is the page updated regularly?
- Are there dead links?
Relevancy
- What is the source's thesis? (According to the author, __________________.)
- Does this source present explicit bias? If so, how does this source's perspective develop your topic?
Accuracy
- Can I verify this information?
- Are there obvious factual or grammatical errors?
- Who are their sources?
Authority
- Who publishes the website? Is this a well-know or respected institution?
- Is there contact information for authors of the website content? What is their background or credentials?
- Is it a commercial site (.com), a government site (.gov), an educational site (.edu), a non-profit or other organization (.org)? How does this affect the information presented?
Purpose
- What are the author's goals? To inform? To persuade? To sell?
- What opinions are being expressed by the author?
