Evaluating Web Sites

How accurate is the information?

Once you determine who created a web site and the purpose of the site, it's time to determine just how accurate the information is. There are several things you can check for, including a publication or revision date, whether the site has been reviewed by other sources, consistency with other sources and cited references.

A publication date indicates how up-to-date the information is. While this may not be an issue for some types of information, such as writing tips, it is a major issue for other topics, such as space, computers and medical research.

Peer review is an effective tool in the academic world to help ensure quality and accuracy of information. While most web sites don't go through a process of peer review, the presence of such a review is definitely a plus in measuring the value of its information. Of course, the peer review should be conducted by experts in the field.

An easy way to evaluate accuracy is to check the information the cite presents against what other sources say. Using multiple sources is a basic research tactic that automatically uncovers errors, contradictions and divergences from received wisdom.

Always check for bibliographies or other citations. If a site presents "facts" about a certain topic, but does not tell where those facts came from, you should reconsider using the site as a source. A list of references isn't enough. You should check the references and evaluate them in the same way you evaluate the site. In the process of reading these other resources, you'll also be able to judge the validity of the information presented on the site you're evaluating.

Awards may be one measure of the value of a web site. If a site posts notes about an award the site has won, you should take a few moments to determine what kind of award it is, what the award is for, who gave out the award, and if the fact that the site has an award has any importance in evaluating the information it presents. For example, an award that praises the graphics used on a web site is of no use in judging whether the information on the web site is accurate.