Internet Credibility

There is no other source of information like there is on the World Wide Web. Information can easily be found on any subject that one wants information on. Unfortunately, there is also a large amount of biased information that a researcher can use if they are not familiar with how to sift through that information. Listed here in this paper is 10 different ways in which one can determine the credibility on the Internet and produce a strong paper. Word of mouth, Website author, When the site was Created and the content itself are just a few different ways to determine credibility.

The W’s of Research

Word of mouth is one way that Internet information can be determined if it is credible or not. According to Ira (2008), “Ask friends and special needs associations for Websites they think are informative.” Always remember that e-mail is another way in which to communicate with these associations and friends.

Who wrote the site is an important factor in determining credibility of the website. An author who has something to gain from the article will be biased in their article. The use of an independent author will provide neutral information, which will produce a credible paper in the end.

When was it created? A Website that was created a while ago obviously will not be credible for a more current event. However, for writing a paper on a past event the date of the site will probably not be such a factor. One should also look for a revision date on the site to determine if the site has been updated recently. (Caruso, 1997).

Where the site is from is an important detail that should be determined. The extension of the site can tip off the researcher on how well the site is credible. A Website with the extension .org has been created by an organization and can have biased information in it and should be scrutinized. The extension .edu is a site created for the use of educational purposes. These sites tend to have more reliable information within it. Sites with the extensions of .com and .net are common sites, and can be authored by anyone. These sites can have information that researchers should steer away from unless they can verify that the information is accurate.

What is on the site in itself is a factor when researching credible information on the Internet. This information should be verified before using in a research paper as a credible source. Failure to do this will result in a paper that is useless if the information turns out to false or leans heavily on the view of the author.

Other Forms of Verification

There are a few different ways to verify if a site is credible or not. One of these is by employing search engines. These engines can verify the sites information. This will prove if the information is credible or if it is just someone’s point of view on the subject.

Checking out the links on the site is a