Evaluating Internet Sites
Do you believe everything you hear? Hopefully not - you need to consider the source and where the information originally came from in the first place. When searching on the Internet, you should not believe everything you see - almost anyone can create a Web page. Here are some basic criteria to help determine the reliability of a website:
1. Find the author's name and credentials. Check if and what affiliate organizations or sponsors there are.
2. Check for spelling and grammatical errors.
3. Compare information with similar websites or other sources.
4. Ponder the purpose of the website - is it meant to persuade people? Is it someone's viewpoint or researched information?
5. Does the information cover all bases or just give bits and pieces of information? (may need to look at the home page)
6. Check to see when the page was created and if it has been updated recently.
(Information taken from Using the Internet: Resources for Substance Abuse Prevention. Used with permission from the Minnesota Institute of Public Health, copyright 2002. Developed with the support of CSAP's Central CAPT.)
