If you find information online that you want to include in your research but aren’t sure how accurate it is, ask yourself the following questions.
Author
Who wrote the information? Can you find a name?
Is there any contact information or ‘about the author’ information such as qualifications, other publications, etc. If not, can you find any of this information online?
Have you seen other material from this author in course materials or other verifiable sources?
Domain
What website is the information published on?
.edu is used by educational institutions
.gov are government sites
.org can be from biased sites such as non-profit organizations. Research the site carefully before using it as a source.
.com sites are commercial and information from these sites should be considered carefully as many .com sites are sponsored and information may be focused on selling something rather than providing factual information
Currency
When was the information published? Can you find an actual date or date range?
Are any links broken? If there are multiple broken links this is a sign that the site is likely older and out of date.
Accuracy
Does the information seem heavily biased, written more like an opinion piece written with more emotion than fact?
Does the information match what you already know from reliable sources?
Is information mentioned in the source properly cited?
Is the site error free?
If for any reason you feel the site does not properly answer these questions, it is probably best to avoid citing it in research. Using an unreliable source can cause you to accidently present inaccurate information as facts. Evaluating sources takes judgment and practice. It will get easier! If you need help, you can always contact our librarians.