- Finding Reliable Information on the Internet - cohdra
The World Wide Web has a plethora of information at the touch of a fingertip; however, much of the information on the Net is dubious at best. Many Web sites are created by people who have no credentials for the information they upload onto the Internet. By examining Web sites a little closely, it's possible to find credible information on the Web.
Check the URL Closely
Anyone can purchase a com, org, net or info domain name and publish a Web site on the Internet with minimal cost. While many of these sites have reputable and credible information, many others do not, so one way to check the reliability of a site is to examine the URL closely.
Web sites with domain extensions gov, edu and mil are usually reliable. Dot gov is the extension for government sites, edu is the extension for educational institutions and mil is the extension for the military. Also keep in mind that according to UC Berkley on their Web page " Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply and Questions to Ask," many country codes in URLs such as us, uk and de are not as regulated as they used to be, and they may be misused.
It's also important to notice if the content on the page is appropriate to the domain name. For example, if someone were looking for information about a health issue, the content in the URL should be related to the information about health. UC Berkley suggests that people find information for health related issues from any agencies of the National Institution of Health, and these sites should have a nih in the URL.
Look for References
In scholarly journals and books, authors cite their sources. Web sites where writers list references and sources for their information are more credible than those that do not list supporting documentation. Sources should also be reliable. Links to sources should be working. Be cautious about sites that offer a product for sale.
While personal pages do not necessarily mean the author lacks credentials or credibility, a Web site that has background information on the author or publisher and contact information is usually more reliable than a Web site without this information.
Check the Content
Reliable Web sites usually offer unbiased opinions. Often they are written from more than one point of view, so be careful with Web sites that sound to bias. Another way to check the reliability of a site is to look for any grammar, spelling and punctuation errors. Many times unreliable information on the Web contains a lot of errors in writing or overall it is poorly written.
It's best to use common sense when searching for reliable information on the Internet or analyzing Web sites. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
Cathy Herold - Cathy Herold lives in southern California. She has a BA in English and minor in African American Studies from UCLA and a master's degree ...
