Skip to Main Content

AENGL 090-Deborah Clarke's Class: Evaluating Internet Sources: Article/Website Evaluation Questions

 

Below is a quick list of questions you can ask to evaluate any source you use for your school assignments or in your personal life. If you cannot find the answers on the source, that should also tell you something about its quality and accuracy and whether you should trust its information.

What to look for:

AUTHOR

The article and website should tell you about the author's knowledge, education and/or experience.

  • Who wrote the article?
     
  • Who owns the website?
     
  • What are their qualifications (education, experience, etc.)?
     
  • Do you trust them to know what they are talking about?
     
  • Is there a way to contact them?

RELIABLE

The information should be correct with proof to show that it is true.

  • What kind of information does the article give you?
     
  • Is the information mostly facts or opinion?  How do you know?
     
  • Are there citations and references for the information provided?
     
  • Are there statistics for the information provided?
     
  • If there are links, do they work?

PURPOSE

Decide the purpose of the article by looking closely at the information.

  • What is the reason the article was created?
     
  • How can you tell if the information is either objective or biased?
     
  • Is the author trying to sell you something?
     
  • What is the domain (.edu, .org, .com, etc.) of the website and how might that influence the purpose of the website?