The internet has made it possible for anyone to publish web pages. Most websites have not undergone a review process for inclusion in a collection, whereas the resources in the Library’s subscription databases have. For these reasons, you should closely evaluate any Internet resources you find to ensure they contain balanced, factual information. Reliable internet resources may include peer reviewed journal articles, government reports, conference papers, industry and professional standards, scientific papers, news reports, and quick facts and figures.
However, keep in mind that just because a website is well presented does not mean that it contains accurate information. Here are some criteria you can look for in Internet resources to determine whether or not they are reliable sources of information. By addressing the questions below, you can reasonably determine if an Internet resource is a reliable source of information.
Additional Resources:
There is a lot of information on the Internet, but how can you tell the good from the bad? This workshop presents search engine tips, basics of website evaluation, and includes practice websites for you to evaluate.
Look for the "site or domain" box in Google's Advanced Search options and enter the domain you'd like to search, as shown below.
You can also do this by adding site:.edu (or .org, .gov, etc) to the end of your search terms in any Google search box. For example, to find articles about “ethical leadership” published on government websites, enter the terms "ethical leadership" site:.gov, as shown below.
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