Criteria |
How can you tell? |
1. Accuracy
Who is the author?
What are their credentials?
What is the purpose of the document?
Are sources attributed and credit given?
Are you able to contact author or publisher of the document?
|
- Look for contact information: mailing address, phone
number, email address
|
2. Authority
What institution published this document?
Is the author qualified to write this document?
|
- Check the URL: the domain will often be a clue as
to the nature of the institution publishing the document (i.e. ".com
= commercial")
|
3. Objectivity
Is there a bias in the information presented?
Is the information intended for a particular audience? |
- Determine the intention of the document by asking
yourself: Why is this being written? Are they trying to sell me something?
|
4. Currency
When was the document created?
Has the document been recently updated?
Is the information out-of-date?
|
- Look for a publication or copyright date on the
web document
- Check for "page last updated"
|
5. Coverage/Scope
Do the links appear to be valid and relevant to the document?
Is all information cited?
|
- Check for broken or invalid links: this may indicate
a problem with regular maintenance of the web site if links are not
properly fixed or changed
|
