Authorship Note: an author can be a person or an organization |
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Accuracy Information must not only be accurate but verifiable in your research. |
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Currency Look at the date of publication, as well as any dates of cited information. |
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Content Does the content meet your needs or assignment requirements? |
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Purpose Look closely at the site. Sometimes it is difficult to tell if it is opinion or fact. |
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Design Look closely at visuals and graphics. Sometimes they can affect the website's credibility. |
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Looking at the web address is one way to tell what the website is about. It might give you an idea of why the site was produced.
Advocacy- These types of websites try to sway your opinion. Their web addresses frequently end in .org (organization)
Marketing/Business- These website are primarily trying to sell something. Their addresses end in .com (commercial)
Informational/Educational- These websites present factual information. Educational or government institutions sponsor these sites. Their addresses end in .edu or .gov (education or government).
News - These sites present extremely current information. Their web address often ends with .com (commercial).
Personal - These pages are created and published by an individual who may or may not be affiliated with a larger institution or organization. Their web address may have a variety of endings (.com, .edu, etc.), and will frequently contain a tilde (~).
Search Tip: It is still important to evaluate sites ending in .org and .edu, just because they are not .com (commercial) sites, doesn't mean they might not be published by an individual, as you can see from the example above. Be critical about what you are reading.