There are many wonderful and reputable sources on the Internet but often it can be difficult to find them after weeding through all the sites that come up in a Google search.
Some criteria to look for include:
- .com? .net? -- these are commercial sites
- .org? -- this often indicates a non-profit
- .gov? -- only government sites have this domain
- .edu? -- only educational institutions have this domain
What type of domain does this page come from?
- Is this someone's personal page?
- What are the author or authors' credentials?
Who wrote the page?
- Is the information current? When was the page last updated?
- Are sources documented with footnotes, a list of references or links?
- Do the links work? Do they link to relevant sites on the topic?
- Do other reputable sites link to this page (search Google using the link operator: type link:http://www.website.com). You can also use http://www.backlinkwatch.com/.
- Why was this page created? As a joke or satire? To misinform people? To sell a product? Or to provide useful and important information to a broad range or users?
