The Internet for Research

The Internet is only one source of information. What it holds is not structured or organized; searching can be very time-consuming. Try other sources first such as books published by reputable academic publishers and articles in refereed (peer-reviewed) journals. Many of these books and journals are now available online.

Use the same evaluation techniques for Internet sources as you would for a book or article. Consider the points on the back of this page.

Be aware….

• Anyone can publish on the Internet. It's a Virtual Soapbox
• Work is not assessed or quality checked by a publisher
• You must judge the intended audience of the information
  • Scholars
  • General public
  • High school students
  • Children

Indicators of quality, if present

• An identifiable author
• Type of information
• Date
• Credentials
• Scope
• Bibliography
• Writing style
• Purpose of web page
• Language used

How to cite internet sources

Follow the style recommended by your School or lecturer.

You will usually need ~

• Author's name as shown on page (if present)
• Date the page was last updated
• Full title
• Date you accessed the Web page
• Publisher (if known)
• URL (the Internet address of the page)

Some useful internet sites

• Johns Hopkins University. The Sheridan Libraries. Evaluating information found on the Internet
• University of California, Berkeley, Library. Evaluating web pages
• Cornell University Library. Five criteria for evaluating web pages

More indicators of quality

• Author(s)
  • Does the information have an author? Has the work been "signed"?
  • If so, is there any information on the author's qualifications, educational background, past writings, etc?
  • Has the author been mentioned by your lecturer?
  • Can you identify an institution, if any, to which the author belongs?
  • Is contact information for the author included?
• Credentials/Responsibility
  • Do you know who authorized the publication, i.e. the publisher? Note: If the page is self-published, check the author's intentions for the page
  • Look at the URL (web address). Are you looking at a Web page hosted by:
    • An educational institution
    • A commercial site
    • A government department
    • An organization
    • OR is it a personal Web page?
• Date
  • Has the author dated the article?
  • Has the information ever been updated?
  • A web page date can mean:
    • The date the document was first written
    • The date the document was placed on the web
    • The date the document was last revised
  • Will the page remain long term on the Web?
• Type of Information
  • Does the information tie in with other information you have on the subject?
  • Are conclusions drawn based soundly on evidence presented? (Be sceptical if views or conclusions differ radically from those expressed elsewhere)
  • Does the text use graphs, photographs, images, etc. well?
• Scope
  • Are all aspects of the subject covered in the document?
  • Look at the level of detail
  • What time period (if any) is covered?
• Purpose of article
  • Has the document come from an official electronic journal or publisher?
  • If self-published, is the text personal rather than objective in tone?
  • Does it support an official group? E.g. Greenpeace
  • What is the intended audience?
  • Is it entertainment? Be aware of "Zines". "Fanzines" etc.
  • Is the page trying to sell you something?
  • Is the information contained on the site or are there constant links to other sites?
• Writing style
  • Is the format and length appropriate for information level
  • Is the text well written, using an appropriate style, e.g. analytical?
• Language used
  • Is the language used:
    • elementary?
    • inflammatory, sensational, emotional?
    • serious - the language commonly used in the discipline?
• Bibliography
  • Does the page have a bibliography?
  • What type of references have been used to support the document
    • Scholarly?
    • Popular?