Eisberg, Jennifer / Credible v. Non-Credible Websites (2024)

What does "credible" mean?

1. capable of being believed;believable.

2. worthy of belief or confidence;trustworthy. (dictionary.com)

Credible Websites:

Credible websites are trusted sites usually funded by colleges/universities,scientific or historical organizations, or government agencies.

Consider the following six criteria in order to decide if thewebsite you're looking at is credible.

"1. Author - Information on the internet with alisted author is one indication of a credible site. The fact that the author iswilling to stand behind the information presented (and in some cases, includehis or her contact information) is a good indication that the information isreliable.

2. Date - The date of any research information isimportant, including information found on the Internet. By including a date,the website allows readers to make decisions about whether that information isrecent enough for their purposes.

3. Sources - Credible websites, like books and scholarlyarticles, should cite the source of the information presented.

4. Domain - Some domains such as .com, .org, and .net canbe purchased and used by any individual. However, the domain .edu is reservedfor colleges and universities, while .gov denotes a government website. Thesetwo are usually credible sources for information (though occasionally auniversity will assign a .edu address to each of its students for personal use,in which case use caution when citing). Be careful with the domain .org, because.org is usually used by non-profit organizations which may have an agenda ofpersuasion rather than education.

5. Site Design - This can be very subjective, but awell-designed site can be an indication of more reliable information. Gooddesign helps make information more easily accessible.

6. Writing Style - Poor spelling and grammar are anindication that the site may not be credible. In an effort to make theinformation presented easy to understand, credible sites watch writing styleclosely." (criteria copied from https://uknowit.uwgb.edu/page.php?id=30276)

Be aware that some reliable sites do not meet all of thiscriteria and some unreliable sites do. If you aren't certain if the siteis credible, compare the information presented to a different trusted source tosee if it is accurate. Depending on the type of research you're doing,the kind of website you use may vary. Sometimes .com and .net websiteswill be appropriate sources for your research if you need specific informationabout a particular company or non-profit organization (this information may belocated on their .com or .net webpages).

Non-Credible Websites:

Since anyone can publish information on theInternet, it is important to carefully scrutinize online sources before you usethem for academic purposes. There is a lot of inaccurate, biased, andoutdated information online. Non-credible websites may have a poordesign, broken links, and grammar and spelling errors. They may lack author,date and/or source information. They will not be associated with credibleinstitutions, organizations, or entities. They may contain unbelievable orincorrect information. The webpages may also contain advertisem*nts. However,some non-credible websites may appear reliable, so it is very important toevaluate the credibility of websites very carefully.

Credibility Questions:

1. Is authorinformation available? Does the author have credentials related to whathe/she is writing about? Is the author associated with an organization orinstitution? Is there a link to the organization/institution? Whatis the author's purpose?

2. Is the date ofpublication available? Is it recent? Are there broken links or oldnews on the page?

3. Does the websitelist its sources? Are the sources credible?

4. What is thedomain? (.com, .org, .net, .edu, .gov) Are there ads on the site?

5. Is the sitedesigned well?

6. Is the site wellwritten? Does it have grammar and spelling mistakes?

7. Using yourcommon sense, does the information seem biased or incorrect? What is thepurpose of the website?

For more information, please read:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/02/

http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/web-eval-sites.htm