There is so much information on the internet, it is important to understand that not all of that information is reliable. Anyone can post anything they want to, but there are criteria that you can use to determine if the information is reliable.
Sources – Fact Checking
The article lists its sources AND you can find those sources on reliable web sites.
There are links or websites mentioned that lend credibility to the article.
You can verify the facts on other reliable web sites
You can follow the links given AND find the subject of the article mentioned on other reliable sites.
You can find a similar article on another reliable site.
You can find an article on another reliable site that has the same information, with no significant differences.
Website - Domain
The top level domain is (web site ends in) .gov .mil or .edu.
The top level domain is the website between the “www” and the “.com” or other ending, like www.utexas.edu - this gets reliability points simply because the domain ends in edu which stands for “educational institution.”
The web site has extensive “about,” “contact” and “mission” information.
If you look around the site, usually at the very top or very bottom of pages you will find links to information about the site and the group that owns the site, information about how to contact the owners of the site, and information about why the organization exists and what its goals.
The site is referenced by other websites as a source for factual information.
When website A links to website B it tells us that website A believes the information on website B to be truthful and well-founded. It doesn’t mean that website A has really researched the reference, but there is a good chance that they did. It is less likely that a reference to site B is well researched if website A is otherwise unreliable.
Author
The author has personal information and/or a curriculum vitae (resume) on the same site, including contact info specific to the author.
When an article is well researched, the author is usually proud of their work – they should at least list their name with the article if they believe in the information. But just a name alone doesn’t make a website reliable. You should also be able to find information about that author and what the author’s qualifications are. If none of this is available, then you can’t rely on the author.
Spelling and grammar are correct.
A professionally written and edited article is spell-checked, and edited for correctness and grammar. If the article is quickly dashed off without being edited, its veracity is much lower.
Format
Information is posted in a discussion board or comment section.
Discussion boards and comments are totally unreliable because anyone can write anything and doesn’t have to use their actual name or contact info. Diccussion boards and comments sections are frequently used by businesses to promote their product covertly (it is often done in user reviews as well).
Information is posted in a blog with no references.
Like discussion boards and comments sections, blogs can be posted by anyone with fictitious information. If there is not information about he author and there are not references to the information, then it is likely opinion, not fact.
Information is posted in a blog with references.
Blogs with references are more reliable, but still blogs. The same holds true for discussion boards and comments, which may be reliable if there are references listed and you can verify those references, but the sources should then be listed as what was linked to, not the original blog, discussion or comment.
Objectivity/Current
The article is well-reasoned, objective and plausible.
Read the article, and think about it. Does it make sense? Does it sound like fantasy? Do the supporting details fit well with the thesis? After you read the article are you left wondering if it could be true, or do you believe it?
Article is dated and the date is within the last two years
At one time, we could read something in a magazine or newspaper and know that it was the most current available information. With the internet, you need to check you information every day. It is not uncommon for big news stories to be proven a fraud in a day or two.
