English Studies

Use the techniques listed below to answer the questions and quickly find out more about the author or creator of a website.

What's the URL?

Read the URL (Web address) carefully. Anyone can create personal pages that are not always reliable, so it's important to know how to spot them. They are often identified by a ~ or % and frequently are loaded on .edu  or .com sites. 

Examine the domain to help you identify the type of organization that sponsors the site:

• Educational: .edu, .museum
• Government: .gov, .mil, .us, .int
• Business-related: .com, .biz, .jobs, .mobi, .travel, .aero
• Organization: .org, .coop, .info, .pro
• Individuals: .name
• Foreign: country codes, such as .ca, .fr, .jp, .uk

Who Are They?

Some questions you may want to ask when considering who the author is:

• What are their credentials?
• How do the authors or publishers make money? How does that influence what they wrote?
• Who is the publisher or sponsor?
• Are they reputable?

Do They Know Their Stuff?

• "Google It!” Google the sponsor’s name or site to locate additional information about them, such as where they work, where they went to school, types of things they research, what others think of them, etc.

• Search for newspaper articles on the sponsor through the PC Library Newspaper Databases

• Search for formally published articles by the author through the PC Library Article Databases

Where's the Contact Info?

• Click on links within the site (Contact, Contact Us, Help, About,  About Us) to identify individuals responsible for the site. 
• Look for an author’s email address or rollover an author’s name to check for a link to more information on him/her/they.

Now that you know WHO is behind the website, let's try to find the purpose -- or WHY -- of it. Listed below are important questions to ask yourself  and the strategies to try to find out the "Why?" quickly and easily.

Who Owns the Site?

• Confirm the source! Purpose is often driven by the organization or person putting up the site.

Are There Lots of Ads?

• Look for advertisements and pop-ups. Excessive advertising can be associated with sites with one purpose – making money!

What's the Mission?

• Click on links within the site (About, About Us, Our Vision, Mission, Home) to find out the purpose of the site. Why did the author build this website? Is it to sell you something? Promote their opinion?

Are These Facts... Or Opinions?

• Think about the “tone” of the page. Tones that sound humorous, exaggerated, or outrageous often indicate the site is meant to amuse.

• Compare the amount of opinions versus factual information. Sites with a lot of opinions frequently are trying to persuade.

As our final task, let's look at the content of the website, or exactly WHAT it offers. Below, we have listed important questions to ask yourself. Be sure to use the techniques listed to help you evaluate the site.

Is This For Real?

• Keep an eye out for outrageous photographs or unlikely images, which are typically used in satirical or parody sites.
• Determine if the information matches what you already know about the topic.
• Check the accuracy of the information against other sources, such as books, articles, or other websites.
• Identify the “Author” using the techniques in this handout. Accuracy of the information is closely linked to authority.
• When searching for medical information, Look for the HON Code. If this code is on the website, it means that the site was approved as credible medical information on the web.

Is There Enough Information?

• Read through the content to check if the information is providing enough detail and answering all of your questions.
• If the information is not in-depth enough, look for a book on the topic through the Library Catalog or an article through the Library article database.

Are References Provided?

• Check for footnotes, references or a bibliography, usually at the bottom of a webpage. Web content that is documented, especially with scholarly journals or books, is often accurate.
• Beware of fake references. Try to locate at least one of the references to verify it's true.
• Look for “links,” “additional sites,” “related links” from the webpage. Links that work and go to reliable websites usually indicate quality content.
   

Is The Site Well Organized?

• Try navigating through the site by clicking on the links. Sites where you can't move around easily may not be updated and may contain outdated or inaccurate information.
• Look for a search box on the homepage of the site. Quality sites usually allow you to search on your topic specifically within their site.

Is The Information Current and Timely?

• The date can usually be found toward the very top or very  bottom of the page. Undated factual or statistical information is useless.
• Make sure that the date is attached to the actual content you are viewing - - not just a date for the homepage of the organization.
• Copyright © dates often indicate the first year the website was published not the date of the content. Look for other more recent dates on the webpage.
• Beware of automated dates. Sometimes the date is automatically reset to “today’s date” instead of the date of the content. “Last Updated” dates might indicate only a minor change, such as a spelling correction.
• How important is the date to your topic? Certain subjects like science, medicine, & current events (news) change frequently. For these subjects, you typically need current information.