Evaluating Internet Sources

1. Authority of the author should be clear.
              Who wrote the page?
Credentials?  Use other sources to find information.

2. Content.
            Is it authentic?
            Not altered or forged?
            Dated?

3. Purpose, Viewpoint
            Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, or institutional biases?
            Who sponsors the page?  See URL/domain chart below.
            If the information is opinion, is it clearly stated?
Example 1 Example 2                Are there footnotes if necessary?  Are these to reputable sources?
            Is the site intended for satire or parody? (This is not always obvious at first glance.)    Example
            What are they trying to sell you? Example

           Look at URL:  protocol://server.host.domain/path/path/path...

        U. S. domains. 
                   .edu - institution of higher education 
                   .gov - federal government 
                   .mil - U.S. military 
                   .org - non-profit organization 
                   .net - network 
              .com - commercial - for profit/business 
       State government domains include a 2-letter state code 
                  Missouri Dept. of Health  = 
                         http://www.health.state.mo.us/

      New domains have recently been added: http://www.icann.org/tlds/

  International agencies use .int
                    World Health Orgnization = http://www.who.int/

      Foreign domains include a 2-letter country code 
                  British Broadcasting Co. = http://www.bbc.co.uk 

~   usually indicates a personal page
                 http://www2.truman.edu/~karenmc/BI/Nursingwww.html

4.  Reputation:  Where cited?
            Did you get this site from a reputable source or from a search engine?
            Who links to it?  (In google search link:url)

Example: www.heritage.org