English - Literature and Composition

Conducting research is a critical process, no matter how trusted the source may be. Use the following criteria for evaluating the validity of Internet content:

Primary considerations:

• Authority & Authorship - Is there a clearly defined author of the content, and if so, what are his or her credentials? Is there an "About" section listed on the site? Can the authors be contacted?
• Bias - Is there a pursuit of objectivity in the content that is presented?  Or is there a noticeable bias or implicit agenda on the part of the author(s) that is discernible?
• Relevancy - Is the content current enough or even pertinent to the subject to support the claims of the authors? How often is the content updated?
• Accuracy - Are the proposed conclusions verifiable from the data presented? Is any data and accompanying references presented? Can fact be adequately separated from opinion?  

Also known as the CRAAP Test for evaluating information, use this set of criteria to maintain a critical focus on whatever sources are used in your research.

Other considerations for evaluation:

• What is the domain of the site's URL (.com,.edu,.org,.net,.gov)?
• Are there numerous broken links across the site?
• Are there advertisements on the page which may promote an agenda?
• Does the site rely too heavily on extra, downloadable software?

Other helpful sites 

Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask - University of California, Berkeley

Evaluating Information Found on the Internet - Johns Hopkins University

Print media sources for topical stories:

These magazines and newspapers are available in the Current Periodicals section on the 2nd floor of the library. Current daily newspapers are on the 1st floor of the library.

In evaluating news sites, it is helpful to evaluate them on a continuum in relation to any bias that might be presented. One good resource is to evaluate news sites is through the Media Bias Chart, created by Vanessa Otero.

• Media Bias Chart - "A unique way of laying out the complex media landscape in two dimensions: quality, on the vertical axis, and bias, on the horizontal axis."
  • Methodology - ranking sources

Peer-reviewed, or "scholarly" articles appear in academic or professional journals.  The term "peer-review" means that the content of each article is reviewed by experts for accuracy and authority prior to publication.  Common components of a scholarly article include author credentials, literature review, methodology (if a research article), findings (if a research article), conclusions and a reference bibliography.

Magazine articles often do not include a reference bibliography, and in some cases the author and credentials are not listed.  Without that type of information, it is difficult to verify the source.  For most research projects, your professors will expect you to use strong, verifiable sources that have undergone peer-review prior to publishing.