Who is the author?

• What are the author's credentials?
• How easy is it to identify who wrote this information?
• What is the author's educational background?
• What is the author's area of expertise?
• Have other scholars cited this author's work?
• Did your professor or another expert recommend this author's work?
• What organization sponsors or employs the author?

• Is the information in it fact, opinion or propaganda?
• Does the author want people who read it to take some action? For instance, are you being persuaded to buy something or to vote for something?
• Is the author's point of view objective and impartial? Can you detect a bias?

• Does the author tell how facts were gathered? Were they gathered from unbiased sources?
• Is there any documentation offered, for instance, do you find a bibliography or other "credits"?

Why was it posted or published?

• Who is hosting this website or publishing this book or journal?
• What do you know about the company or group? Do they have a bias?

How stable is this information source?

Be aware that no one is keeping an archive of all the material on the web. If the author changes the page tomorrow, your source has disappeared. You may want to print and keep a copy of anything you cite in a paper. Someone who reads your paper might need to view the source material that you used.

Need more help?

When you need help on your research project, talk to your professor, stop by the Reference Desk at one of the Libraries, make an appointment to talk with a Reference Librarian, or talk with someone in the Writing Resource Center on your campus.