The Internet is deceptively easy.

You can log on pretty much automatically.

You can find information without much trouble at all.

Finding truth is quite another matter.

Jamie McKenzie

Together on the Web:A Dozen Information Skills for the Home.

From Now On   Vol 6|No 5|February|1997

Many websites are promotional in some sense. Are you aware that companies pay search engines to push their websites to the top of your search results, regardless of relevance?

Websites are often there to sell an idea or a product.  You need to learn how to identify the company, the organization, the special interest group or the person, who published the information you are reading. In many cases this will be quite a challenge as the promoters and sponsors want to maintain a low profile! Then you need to ask whether or not they have a product or an idea to sell.

The following briefly summarises the main questions to ask of any source, including websites:

• Look at the URL to determine who produced the site (or who posted it, at least):

  .com is a commercial site.

  .edu is an academic site.

  .gov is a government site.

  .org is usually a non-profit organization.

  .net is a networked service provider.

  .mil is a military site.

• The country of origin is often (but not always) indicated in the URL for example,  .au (Australia) .ca (Canada)

~ in the URL usually means it is someone's personal page within that site - these are more likely to disappear as people move on + they are more likely to be personal, unsubstantiated opinion than hard facts.

then consider the following questions....

• Is an author listed?

• What are the credentials of the author?

• Is there a bias or a commercial interest?

• Who is the intended audience?

• How current is the information?

• Are references, citations, or links to other resources included?

• Are there any facts here?

Remember......

Because many sites are more interested in persuasion than education, you will often find facts and information lacking. You need to find sites which provide the raw materials for your assignment, not necessarily pages of someone else's insights and opinions.
 

For more details check any of the sites listed here....

• Evaluating non-fiction books - a very simple online tool

• Resources for Evaluating Internet (and other) Information

• Evaluating, Selecting, and Citing Information (slideshow )

• The QUICK guide to evaluating web sources

• Internet detective - wise up to the web

• Website evaluation - interactive tool

• Jo cool or Jo fool - web evaluation game/quiz

Once you have decided to use a source, don't forget to record the details for a bibliography!