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Quinebaug Valley Campus Library

Quinebaug Valley PSY 1011 General Psychology I

Source Evaluation

Website Articles May Not Be Accurate

Because anyone can create a website with no checks for accuracy, take caution when using a website for a source. While website articles can be a good source of information, they are more likely to have inaccuracies compared to peer-reviewed journals or reputable newspapers. However, there are ways to check to see if the website article is accurate. 

Look at the Domain

A domain is the last three letters of a URL. For example, Google is .com.  A .com website can generated by anyone and may have little checks for accuracies. Meanwhile, these types of domains are far more likely to have accurate and relevant information: 

Domain Details  Example
.gov Website information comes from an government agency irs.gov
.edu Website information comes from an education source like a college, school, or university qvcc.edu
.org Website information comes from an official nonprofit organization ecosia.org

Evaluate The Website 

To check if a website is a good source, be sure to ask the following questions in these categories: 

Criteria Question
Accuracy

Are there sources or links on the website that back up their claims? 

Do you see citations (MLA, APA, Chicago) or a Works Cited section?
Authority

Is the author an expert in this field of content? 

Is there any information regarding the background of the author? 

Does the author have any qualifications, awards, or credentials? 
Objectivity

Does the article feel bias? 

Is the article more interested in selling a project rather than provide information?

What is the main point of the article? Is it more focused on supplying facts or just opinions? 
Currency

How old is the article? Can you find a "last updated" note?

If this article is very old, how relevant is it now? Is it still useful? 
Coverage

Compared to other sources on this topic, how useful is this source? 

Are there other sources that cover this topic better? More accurately? 

Evaluate the information

Sometimes you will need to evaluate the information not only based on the place you originally located the information, but also the overall context of the information.  How can you tell if a website that you would like to use looks like it is credible but still contains questionable information.  Even the best of us can be tricked into believing and re-posting bad information!

  • Have you looked at/compared several articles from the first or second page of results to get a sense of what is out there before starting to read individual pages?  Getting a feel for what information is out there will help you pick the sources that are likely to be most useful for your current project.
  • Has the information been taken out of context?  Have important parts of the information been left out or changed?  Context is key in understanding the trustworthiness of the information you have.  Any piece of information you have that has been taken out of context should be traced back to its original source.
  • Have you located the best presentation of the information?  While the information may be the same across multiple locations, it may be easier to read, easier to understand, or presented by a more trustworthy source in particular places.
  • Is it easy to find where the information originated? Have you found the same information on several different pages?  Is there a consensus about the issue or piece of information?  It has become easier to manipulate information online.  The information may have been taken out of context, or the information may have been changed.