Look at the URL for signs of authorship
Is it a personal site? Look for the presence of the symbol "~".
What domain is it from? .org, .edu, .gov, .mil, .com, .net
Can you tell what entity or organization publishes or manages
the site? At the beginning section of the URL, look for company
or main site names. Try to find a link on the main site that
tells you about the author or company ("about us"
or "about me").
Additionally, go to the Who
Is Search site and enter the main part of the URL( called the domain
name). You might be able to find information about the creator of the
website.
For magazine articles, use Ulrich’s
Periodical Directory to find information about the magazine,
newspaper or journal.
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Look at the Web page for signs of credibility (actually read the text)
Is there an author listed?
Is the material dated?
Does the author give you information about him or herself including
credentials?
Has the author or organization listed sources that were consulted?
Are there links to other sources of information?
Does the page provide more than one viewpoint on the subject?
Can you tell the intentions of the web site? Is the purpose to inform,
explain, persuade, sell, share, or entice? Is the information meant
as satire or parody?
Search the Internet for signs of credibility
Who links to this site? Go to most search engines, such as Google
and type the following search: link:all.or.part.of.url
Look in a subject directory on the Internet (directories are often
created by knowledgable staff members, such as subject experts and
librarians). Is the page rated in a directory, such as Librarians'
Internet Index, Internet Public Library
or Yahoo's Search Directory?
Look up the name of the author in a search engine for biographical
information or other publications. If you cannot find biographical
information on the World Wide Web, try searching for the author in
one of our Article
& Research Databases. |