How do I evaluate information sources?
Are there any other criteria I should consider to evaluate electronic information sources
on the Internet?
When evaluating Internet sources, domain names often provide a clue to a site’s purpose,
but they are not fail-safe. To effectively evaluate a web site, you must apply ALL of the
major criteria listed in "What criteria should I consider to
evaluate print and electronic information sources?"
A web site that contains impressive sound and/or graphics does not necessarily contain
trustworthy information. Here are some common domain names and what they represent.
- .com = commercial (they are usually trying to sell something), but
they often contain valuable factual information, and many personal
homepages have .com domains (e.g. geocities.com).
- .edu = educational, but this does not guarantee that the information
will always be authoritative or of research quality. If, on an eductional
website, you see a ~ followed by a person's name, such as ~carol.brown,
this is a personal web page that is simply located on an educational
server. The person is usually a student or employed by the college
or university, so their opinions and the contents of their pages may
or may not reflect the view of the university they are affiliated
with--so be careful when using these pages.
- .org = organizations. These sites often represent advocacy groups
and non-profit organizations which may have a bias or a particular
point of view. These sites should always be examined for their content--and
you should be aware of what their particular bias or point of view
is as you examine their pages.
- .gov = government. Government agencies often use internet sites to disseminate
statistical and survey information and reports.
- .mil = military. These are sites of the United States military.
- .net = network organizations. These are directly involved in Internet
operations, such as network providers and network information centers.
Network sites now often house personal web pages.
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