It's Online, but Is It On Target?
Using the Web Wisely
Thanks to the Web, information is easy to find. However, it’s also easy to post something online. Anyone can do it.
You’ve probably used the Internet to do research for a paper, to help you decide which product to buy, or to form an opinion about current events. Looking up information online is fast and convenient. But when you do online research, it’s important to find sites you can trust.
Many websites claim to have the facts, but are full of errors. Others present information in a biased way — they only give one side of an argument. How can you tell a reliable source from an unreliable one?
Research with Attitude
Conduct your research with the attitude of a skeptic. As you examine websites for clues that they’re trustworthy, ask these questions:
- Who wrote the Web page? If you can’t identify the individual or organization responsible for the information, don’t use it.
- What are the author’s qualifications for writing on the subject?
- Has the article passed through an editorial process designed to ensure quality and accuracy?
- What is the website’s purpose? Look for motives — like selling products or winning votes — that could result in biased or incomplete information.
- Is the information accurate? Is it up-to-date?
- Where did the author get this information?
Dot-What?
Look at the site’s address. What follows the dot?
- Dot-com is not only for businesses; anyone can use it. Dot-coms include well-known and respected companies, but also private individuals.
- Dot-org usually indicates a not-for-profit organization. Many dot-orgs present unbiased information, but others have political agendas, focus on debatable issues instead of facts, and might not present all sides of an argument.
- Dot-gov indicates a government website at the federal, state or local level. The federal government is a good source of statistics, and its sites are widely considered among the most reliable.
- Dot-mil is used by sites that are part of the military.
- Dot-edu usually indicates a university website. While its published research is generally considered very trustworthy, anyone associated with the university, whether a world-renowned scholar or a freshman, can be given space on its server. Professors sometimes put student course work up on the Web, but that doesn’t mean they’re vouching for the information’s accuracy.
Read Between the Lines
Make a judgment about the site’s reliability based on your own analysis of the site and the information it contains. Here are some ways to do this:
- Look for facts you know or can check with a trusted source. If the site gets those facts right, it’s more likely that the other facts on the site are also accurate.
- Study the language used. Is it angry, satiric or overly impassioned? This may indicate that the site is biased.
- Consider whether the arguments are logical and backed up by evidence, and whether the site presents only one point of view.
- Check the links to the sources that the author acknowledges. Scholarly writing, whether in print or online, should include a bibliography.
- Presentation counts; look at everything from design to spelling. A clean, well-organized site shows a certain degree of professionalism.
More Tips
Finally, look beyond the article for more clues.
- Read the website’s home page and the About Us page. Look for a mission statement to learn more about the site, its purpose and the organization sponsoring it.
- If there is an author listed, look for a biography that discusses the author’s education, profession and other relevant background. If there is no bio on the site, search for one elsewhere on the Web.
- Check the date. Facts can change over time, so see if the site shows when it was last updated.
