It is up to you as the researcher to determine if a web site is a viable source of information. Remember, anyone can publish on the Internet. Therefore, to distinguish the "good stuff" from the "bad stuff," you must ask yourself: Is the information scholarly, substantive, popular, or sensational?
Go to Distinguishing Scholarly Journals from other Periodicals.
In addition to distinguishing the type of journal that you are finding research in, consider the following guidelines:
Check the Source
On the Internet, everyone can be his or her own publisher. Many have argued that this has allowed voices that were not previously heard in the publishing world of books and magazines to be heard for the first time.
If the Internet document is not coming from a well-known publisher, check the credentials of the author.
- Is the author even listed?
- Is there a way of contacting the author?
- Is the author credible in the printed world?
- Is the author representing a larger group of people?
Check the Domain
The domain name is the last part of the Uniform Resource Locator (URL). The most common domains include:
- .edu for the educational domain
- .gov for the government
- .com for commerce or commercial trade
- .org for organizational domain
Countries outside of the United States tend to use country codes, i.e. "ca" for Canada and "fr" for France.
The domain name may help you evaluate the reputability of the information. Public policy and statistical information is generally more reliable coming from a government or educational site.
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Tip: For more guidelines to Internet resources, go to Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages. |