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Evaluating Web Resources
- Who is the author?
- What else has the author written?
- In which contexts does the author have expertise?
- Do they have a formal role in a particular institution (e.g. a professor at Oxford)?
- Why was this source created?
- Does it have an economic value for the author or publisher?
- Is it an educational resource? Persuasive?
- What (research) questions does it attempt to answer?
- Does it strive to be objective?
- Who is the intended audience?
- Was it published in a scholarly publication, such as an academic journal?
- Does the publication have a particular editorial position?
- Is it generally thought to be a conservative or progressive outlet?
- Is the publication sponsored by any other companies or organizations? Do the sponsors have particular biases?
- Where, geographically, was it originally published, and in what language?
- What is the scope of coverage?
- Is it a general overview or an in-depth analysis?
- Does the scope match your own information needs?
- Is the time period and geographic region relevant to your research?
- When was the source first published?
- What version or edition of the source are you consulting?
- Are there differences in editions, such as new introductions or footnotes?
- If the publication is online, when was it last updated?
- Are there any published reviews, responses or rebuttals?
- Did they cite their sources?
- If not, do you have any other means to verify the reliability of their claims?
- Who do they cite?
- Look closely at the quotations and paraphrases from other sources:
- Did they appropriately represent the context of their cited sources?
- Did they ignore any important elements from their cited sources?
- Are they cherry-picking facts to support their own arguments?
