When you have a question, an internet search engine is often the first place you go to for answers, but a search might return thousands of results. Which sources are good resources, and which are biased or inaccurate? By considering the different sites critically, you can determine which are likely to be unbiased, knowledgeable, and current.
A good first step is to check the page’s web address, or uniform resource locator (URL). For example, the URL www.census.gov refers to the World Wide Web server at the Census Bureau of the United States government. In the United States, government websites such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US Census, and NASA will end in .gov. The websites of universities end in .edu and, since these large institutions review information posted to their official sites, they are usually reliable sources of data.
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A URL ending in .gov indicates a government website.
If the website has a different domain, such as .com or .org, it may still be accurate and objective. Try to determine the author. If it is one person, what can you tell about the author’s qualifications to write on this topic? Can you cross-check this information somewhere else? If the website is part of an institution, have you ever heard of it? Does the institution have an agenda it promotes, presenting only one side of an issue? Can you verify the information about the author or institution?
Look at the language used on the page. First, are there spelling or grammatical errors? These can indicate a page that is maintained by one person, with no peer review before the information is posted. If no one double-checks the spelling, it is quite possible that no one double-checks the accuracy of what is posted, either.
Next, consider the style of writing: is it designed to inform the reader about a subject, or is the intention to persuade the reader of something? Does the author use neutral words or choose words that will evoke an emotional response?
Sometimes you can check a site’s accuracy against your own base of knowledge. For a topic new to you, determine the author of the piece and evaluate how objective the information seems, and then look at how the information presented is supported. Does the page give sources to back up its claims, are there links to these sources, and do they connect to live, reputable sites?
Finally, consider whether the information is current enough for your needs. Look for the date the page was published or updated, as information can sometimes be several years old but still accurate. In other cases, you want to check that the information is current.
The internet is obviously brimming with countless answers to your questions, making researching and learning faster and easier. It is up to you, however, to make the extra effort to ensure that the information is trustworthy and the best choice for you and your academic needs. What questions should be considered when evaluating the reliability of a website?
