Articles

Books

Internet

Citing
Sources

Document
Delivery

Research
Consultation

Questions to consider: 

• Does the title of the web page suggest any bias towards the information covered?
• Is there evidence of bias within the body of the web page?
• Is it clear who the author of the web page is? Is there a way provided to communicate with the author?
• If this page is put up by an organization, is it clear what the organization is, and what their stand on the issue is?
• Are you able to find independent information about the organization from other sources? (This may mean using non-web based reference tools).
• What sort of domain does the web page's url come from? Is it a .com, .edu, .gov, or .org?
• Is the information copyrighted? (This does not imply that the information is in any way more reliable, but may indicate an "official" position of an organization).
• Is the web page dated? Has it been updated recently?
• Are there obvious typographical or factual errors? Is the page messy? Do all of the links work? In other words, does the page seem to be well sorted, and of sound quality?
• Does the web page feature any advertising? If so, does it relate to the site?
• Finally, where does this page fit in the web generally? Does it link to pages of similar quality? Consider evaluating those sites as well.

In the broadest terms, the user will find a web site good to use if it contains the following elements:

• There is no obvious bias.
• The author is evident, as well as some information as to why the author may be credible in regards to the web page's topic, and that there is a way to contact the author (by mail, e-mail, or by phone).
• The page is well constructed, free of obvious errors, and that there is evidence that the page is maintained. That implies that the information should be dated, and the date is relatively current, and that any links attached to the page work. Associated links should be to pages of similar (or higher quality).
• The url domain can indicate bias where the web page generally may not. A .com domain indicates that the page is a commercial one, and may indicate the opinions of a business, or has as a motivation sales of products or services. A .edu site originates from the education sector, but may range from various educational levels. These are pages put up by students, instructors, educational departments, and researchers. Quality and reliability may vary. A .gov site originates from the government. You may have particular opinions about potential reliability of such sources, but these sites often contain "official" information that is used by the citing office, and often other offices, or agencies of the government. A .org site is derived from some sort of organization, and may reflect that organizations particular agenda.

When in doubt, consult with your instructor.

Heavily adapted from Sean Evan's Verifiable Information and the Web