Evaluating Internet Sources

English 1102: Writing in the

Academic Community
 How to Recognize an
Informational Web Page
Purpose: to present factual information.
The URL Address frequently ends in .edu or
.gov, as many of these pages are sponsored by
educational institutions or government agencies.
Examples: Dictionaries, thesauri, directories,
transportation schedules, calendars of events,
statistical data, and other factual information
such as reports, presentations of research, or
information about a topic.
How to Recognize a News Web
Page
Purpose: to provide extremely current
information.
The URL address of the page usually ends
in .com (commercial).
Examples: USA Today, Philadelphia
Inquirer, CNN
How to Recognize an Advocacy
Web Page
Purpose: to influence public opinion. It will
be sponsored by an organization.
The URL address of the page frequently
ends in .org (organization).
Examples: National Abortion and
Reproductive Rights Action League, the
National Right to Life Committee, the
Democratic Party, the Republican Party
 How to Recognize a
Business/Marketing Web Page
Purpose: to promote or sell products. It is
sponsored by a commercial enterprise.
The URL address of the page frequently
ends in .com (commercial).
Examples: Adobe Systems, Inc., the Coca
Cola Company, and numerous other large
and small companies using the Web for
business purposes.
How to Recognize a Personal
Web Page
A Personal Web Page is one published by
an individual who may or may not be
affiliated with a larger institution.
The URL address of the page may have a
variety of endings (e.g. .com, .edu, etc.), a
tilde (~) is frequently embedded
somewhere in the URL.
 Asking Questions About
A Web Page
To discover whether a source is credible,
you can ask questions about the site’s:
AUTHORITY
ACCURACY
OBJECTIVITY
CURRENCY
COVERAGE
 Authority
Make sure you can answer “yes” to these
questions
Is it clear who wrote the material and what
their qualifications are?
Is it clear what company, organization, or
individual is responsible for the page’s
content?
Is there a way of verifying if the page's
sponsor is legitimate?
 Authority, Continued…
Is there a phone number or postal address
to contact? (email address = not enough).
Is there a print version of this material that
would provide a way of verifying its
legitimacy?
 Accuracy
Can the information be verified elsewhere? If
not, it is probably not a reliable source.
Is the information free of grammatical,
spelling, and other typographical errors?
Is it clear who has the ultimate responsibility
for the accuracy of the content of the
material?
Are any charts or graphs included on the
Web page clearly labeled and easy to read?
 Objectivity
Are biases clearly stated?
Is the author honest about what side he or
she is coming from or representing?
For any given piece of information, is it
clear what the motivation is for providing
it?
 Currency
Are there dates on the page to indicate:
When the page was written?
When the page was first placed on the Web?
When the page was last updated?
If material is presented in graphs and/or charts,
is it clearly stated when the data was gathered?
If a newspaper, does it indicate what edition of
the paper the page belongs to?
 Currency, continued…
If a broadcast, does it indicate the date
and time the information on the page was
originally broadcast?
If the information is published in different
editions, is it clearly labeled what edition
the page is from?
 Coverage
Does the author adequately cover the
topic?
Are there links offered to additional
coverage?