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Evaluating Information on the Web Information on the Web Information in Periodicals Checklist For Evaluating Web Pages For More Information On Evaluating Web Sites Web Sites That Have Undergone Evaluation Information on the Web If you go to Google (or any other search engine), you can find up-to-date information by surfing the Web. Surfing the Web is easy and fun. A lot of good information is available via the Internet, but there's also a lot of junk. The Internet is an unregulated medium, so you get a lot of trash along with the occasional treasure. Information in Periodicals Periodical publications, on the other hand, are regulated with defined editorial and review processes. An article from a reputable journal, which has undergone a formal review process, is generally a more appropriate source for a research paper than information gleaned at random from the Web. To learn more about scholarly journals and popular publications, see Distinguishing Scholarly Research Journals from Other Periodicals. It is fairly easy to distinguish a scholarly journal from a general interest magazine. Judging the content of an Internet site can be more challenging. Use the following checklist as a starting point for evaluating Internet sites. Checklist For Evaluating Web Pages Questions to ask about the site's author Can you identify the author of the site (either an individual or an organization)? Is the author an expert on this topic? Is the author's primary purpose to provide scholarly information? Is the author's primary purpose to sell a product or service? Is the author's point of view unbiased? Where does the site come form? Look at the URL - is it .edu for an educational site, .gov for government, .com for commercial, etc? Questions to ask about the site's content Are there any obvious errors or misinformation? Does the information appear to be accurate? Can the information be verified through another source? Is the information current? (Is there a date for the last update on the page?) Is the information scholarly in nature? Is documentation provided? Are the links useful? Are the links active? Questions to ask about how the site is organized Is there a table of contents? Is the site easy to navigate? Do the graphics enhance or interfere with the usefulness of the site? For More Information On Evaluating Web Sites Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages Evaluating Web Information Evaluate Web Sources: Evaluation Criteria Web Sites That Have Undergone Evaluation Librarian's Index to the Internet Scout Report's Archives Carol Singer's Bookmarks