Evaluating Websites

Currency of Information

• If you are doing historical or background research, older materials will be fine
• If your topic is on a current event you must take care to have current resources.

Relevance

• The same information may have different relevance if you are seeking information for information purposes only, vs. seeking information to support a research paper.

Authority

• Credentials and expertise of the person who created/wrote the information
• The URL can often tell you a great deal:
  • Commerical page? (.com)
  • Government site? .gov or .mil
  • Education site? (.edu)   
  • Organization site? (.org)
  • Personal page? (~ or % sign prominent)

Accuracy