There is a lot of valuable information on the internet, but not everything on the internet is true or appropriate for you to use for a research paper. You need to be critical of the information you find on the internet. When you find a website that you are thinking about using you need to think about the following questions: WHO?
Who is the author of the website?
Is the person is qualified to write on this topic?
Are there sources listed for the information on the webpage? If so, check some of them out.
WHAT?
What is the purpose of the website? (To provide information, persuade you, etc.)
Is the information accurate? (To decide this, compare to other sources you know are accurate.)
Are there spelling or grammatical errors? If so, try another source. If the person did not bother to check their spelling and grammar, you need to wonder if they checked their facts!
Does the information presented on the website meet your needs?
WHERE?
Where can you find more information about the website or the author? Look for links to verify the person’s qualifications or that the information is accurate
WHEN?
When was the website created? Has the information been updated? This matters more for topics that change like science and technology than for topics that remain the same such as history.
WHY?
Why would you recommend this site to others researching this topic?
What makes it worth using?
Could you defend using this source to your teacher?
Website Evaluation
There is a lot of valuable information on the internet, but not everything on the internet is true or appropriate for you to use for a research paper. You need to be critical of the information you find on the internet. When you find a website that you are thinking about using you need to think about the following questions:
WHO?
WHAT?
WHERE?
WHEN?
WHY?