Evaluating Online Resources: Asking the Right Questions

1. Who wrote it? Who is the author of the content on the website? Is it an individual or an organization? Does the site provide any information or credentials for the author or the organization that publishes the site? Can you contact him/her/them?

2. What kind of website is it? What kind of domain is it (.com, .net, .org, .gov, .edu)? What does that tell you about the website or the organization that publishes it? You may want to visit the main page of the website (the part of the address before the first /) for more information about who published the site.

3. What is the purpose of the website? Does the site have a stated purpose or mission statement? Does it serve its intended purpose? Does it ask or encourage you to purchase anything?

4. Is the information up-to-date? When was the website last updated? Are the links still active?

5. Is the information useful to you? How detailed is the information on the website? Does the site include information that is unavailable elsewhere?

6. Where did the information come from? Is the information cited? Does the website provide any links to other sources for verification or further research? If the website contains excerpts from other sites or sources, do they have permission to reprint those pieces?

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Page last updated March 19, 2008.