Assessing a Website's Credibility...

We are all keenly aware that the Web presents the opportunity for anyone to publish information. Due to this fact, we must also be aware that this information is open to manipulation by those posting it. This demonstrates the need to evaluate and establish information quality prior to citation. To combat the possibility of citing bad information it is good practice to evaluate the site. In this manner you can verify the authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, and coverage of a site. You will also be more aware of the fact that sponsors can have an adverse affect on a site's content, as well as other possible conflicts.



Widener University has produced one of the best evaluation schemas available and they have versions for differing types of sites. The site also contains examples of evaluated sites, and best of all, it is free. To access the evaluation page you can click here.

Assessing the credibility of information presented in any media requires hard work and diligence. This process is compounded when evaluating Internet resources, due to the following factors: