Learn to Tell the Good from the Bad on the Internet
There is an amazing amount of information on the Internet, but not all of it is worth using. It is easy to publish on the Internet, so there are many "opinion" pages. There are also ways to tell the good from the bad.Author
Who is the author and is there a way to contact him/her?Source (who published the page) -Do you recognize the author from other reading that you have done?
Does the author tell you why he/she is qualified to write about the subject?
Is there any biographical information about the author?If you search the Web can you find out anything more about the author?
Does the name of the organization appear on the page?
Is the organization recognized within the field? Is it known to have a particular point of view?
What type of site is it? (Hint: check the URL for .com = commercial; .gov = government; .org = organization; .edu = educational; ~ = personal page)
What subject is covered?Point of view
Who is the intended audience (e.g. general or academic)?
Does the site have a bibliography or link to other sites?
Does the site give only the author's point of view or is it representative of the beliefs or ideas of a wider group of people?Date
How does the information in the site compare with what you have already learned about the subject?
What is the purpose of the site - to inform, to explain, to promote?
When was the site created?
When was the site last updated?
July 15, 2008
