Evaluating Web Sites

Who created the site?

The Internet is a great entity because anyone with a little bit of money and some time can create a web site. While this is great from a free-speech point of view, it can be maddening when you're trying to find good information. When you do a search on a specific topic, you will be presented with sites created by experts, hobbyists, professionals and crackpots. Your job is to figure out who to believe. To that end, there are a few questions you can ask about the site. If you answer "no" to at least half of these questions, you have good reason to doubt the accuracy of the information on the web site.

Are the author's credentials clearly presented?
Is the author qualified to talk about the subject at hand?
Is there contact information?
Does the author explain where they got their information?
Does the author present citations for the information presented?