Explore the Internet last and be discerning about what you use; information may not be reliable. See below for more information on evaluating web sites.
This is your last chance to use the vocabulary terms you collected from encyclopedias.
Internet sources require a special citation format. See step five for guidance with citing your sources.
Evaluating Web Sites: Things to Consider
Is the site produced by a reputable college, university, or other information-providing institution? It is if the URL contains one of the following "domain" codes:
ac (British academic institution)
edu (US educational institution)
gov (governmental body)
org (non-profit organization)
Is the site produced by an individual? These sites require special scrutiny. Look for answers to the following questions before using information from these sources.
Are you familiar with the author as a recognized authority in the subject area of the information contained on the page?
If not, does the site contain biographical information and/or credentials about the individual?
Do those credentials tie the individual to reputable institutions?
Sometimes it is difficult to discern who produces a site because the site is several levels into a larger site. In these situations, try the following:
Locate a "Home" link that will take you to the web site's main page.
If you can't find a "Home" link, truncate the URL back to each single forward slash. For example, http://www.ecu.edu/lib/music.cfm would be truncated to http://www.ecu.edu/lib to see that the Music Library site is part of the Joyner Library site.
How current is the information contained on this site?
Check the bottom of the opening page of the site for an indication of when the site was last updated. Many now contain such a date, or at least a copyright indication that includes a year. If that year is not the current one, be cautious about using the information.
Some sites also include dates for other reasons (e.g., a performance schedule on a musician's web site). Such dates can also be good indicators of currency.
