With millions of documents on the Internet, there’s plenty of information to choose from.  When doing research, be sure to look at your results carefully and remember that some web pages are written by experts and some are written by those with little or no knowledge on the subject.  Ask yourself the following questions when evaluating information you find on the Internet:

AUTHORITY:

• "Who wrote the page?"   Look at the author’s name or © link to an organization

• "What are the author’s credentials?"   Look for information about the author or his affiliations to an organization

• "Did the author include contact information?"   Look for an email link, address, or phone number for the author

• "Whose website is it?"  "What organization is sponsoring the web page?"   Look at the “domain” (.com, .edu, .org, etc.)

PURPOSE/INTENDED AUDIENCE:

• "What is the purpose of the page?"  "Why did the author create it?"   Look to see if it was created for entertainment, educational purposes, or for marketing

• "Who is the target audience?"   Look for the reading level of the page and consider the design

CURRENT:

• "Is the date at the top or at the bottom of the page?"   Look for a recent date

• "Is the information up-to-date?"   Compare the information on the web page to information from other sources

OBJECTIVITY vs. BIAS:

• "Is the author being objective or biased?"   Look at the facts the author provides.  Are the author’s views fair?

SUPPORT:

• "Does the author support the information he or she uses?"   Look for links or citations to sources.

• "Is the support respectable?"   Does the page cite well-known sources or authorities?