Anyone is free to
put information on the Web. Many Web pages are put up without passing through
the quality control processes which academic books and journal articles
undergo.
URL
What is the domain of the page you are looking at?
| .com, .co – commercial | .edu – education | .gov – government |
| .net – network | .org – non-profit organisation | .mil – military |
In addition a two letter country code identifies the
geographic location of an Internet address. Addresses
without a country code are usually in the
| .au – |
.jp – |
| . |
.ca – |
A full list of country codes can be found at http://www.bitmedia.com/cc/url.htm
Authorship/organisation
| Can you identify who created the site? | Is the author qualified in the subject? |
| Is it someone’s personal web page? | Does the author or organisation have authority in the subject area? |
Bias or Point of View
| Is the site trying to promote a particular point of view? | Are there sponsors and do they have an influence on the content |
Purpose
| What is the purpose of the site? | Is it there to sell something, promote an opinion, disseminate data or statistics, inform or explain ? |
| Do footnotes or references document factual information? | Is the information presented accurate? |
| Are documents reproduced from other sources with acknowledgement and without changes? |
If you are not sure, then double check facts or
details by using a reliable source such as an encyclopaedia [eg. Halsbury’s
Laws of Australia]
