Select and Evaluate Internet Sites

Do Your Own Evaluations.  Do Not Just Pick the First Web Site on a Results List

1. Credibility

Can you easily identify an author/sponsor of the page? Does it appear reliable? Is the information serious or frivolous? Humorous or satiric? Look at the end of the URL (address): .edu, .com, .gov, .org. What does this tell you about the site's bias?

2. Content/Context

Is someone trying to sell you a product related to your topic of interest? Can you determine if this information is free or proprietary? Is it scholarly or recreational reading? Is there a creation or revision date, author, title, and way to contact the supplier of the information? How is the information intended to be used? Has it been a long time since the last update, and does age matter for your purposes? Will you or your instructor be satisfied by just any source on your subject, or would you be better served by verifiable statistics, history, discussion, case studies, and/or peer-reviewed journal articles (such as those found on GALILEO)?

3. Citation

Electronic resources deserve credit just as print ones do. Your reader may wish to verify a URL or to do further research, so a citation is necessary. Style manuals (APA, MLA) and online guides show sample citation format.

4. Copyright

Users of electronic or Internet information must respect copyright just as print readers should. "Fair use" applies generally to brief, cited parts, for research or discussion. Even if a copyright symbol does not appear, someone else is responsible or created the Web document, picture, or sound, and the material is protected. "Public domain" applies only if stated directly.

5. Connection

Is this page best viewed using only one Web browser or one version of it? Is it hard to view without waiting? Does it require a frame-compatible browser? Will the graphics take a long time to download over a modem?

6. Constancy

Here today? Gone tomorrow? How well maintained is this site? Can you get to it easily and without registering, paying a fee, or downloading the latest plug-in software? Will it be there in two weeks should your professor wish to follow your initial link?

To speak with a librarian about your research context and the best sources (electronic or in print) for you, call 912.260.4331 or on the web