This document outlines criteria for evaluating the credibility of information found on websites, including authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, and coverage. For each criterion, questions are provided to consider as well as clues to look for that may indicate credibility or a lack thereof. Authority examines the qualifications of authors and sources. Accuracy considers whether information is factual and unbiased. Objectivity determines if information is impartial or influenced by emotion/prejudice. Currency addresses how recent information is. Coverage assesses thoroughness and completeness.

1. Criteria for Examining the
Credibility of Information on
Web Sites

2. AUTHORITY
checking the qualifications and reputation of an author or source
Questions to ask:
• Who is providing the information?
• Is there personal contact information?
• What is the expertise of the author?
• Has the site been verified in identity?
• Does the email domain match with the
internet domain?

3. AUTHORITY
Clues to look for
 Registered site (who.is)
 411 and Mapquest on name and address
 use search engines to get links or other sites
 Email or postal site that can be verified
 Read author bios or “about us” links
 Check professional directories
 Check site verification

4. ACCURACY
error free and reliable information
Questions to ask:
• Does the information appear to contain a
minimum amount of bias?
• Is the information that has been selected
designed to sway the reader?
• Is there any advertising on this site? What
kind?
• Who else uses or links to this site?

5. ACCURACY
Clues to look for
 Writing that has been thoroughly checked is more likely to be
written by someone who has fact-checked their information as well.
 More than one person fact-checking is better than one.
 Check for a bibliography (paper trail) Check information against
other sources.

6. OBJECTIVITY
free of information/opinions based on emotion and prejudice
Questions to ask:
• Is the information free from grammatical,
spelling, and typographical errors?
• Is there a person in a higher-up position such as
an editor who has checked the work before it
has been published to the Internet?
• Can you cross-check the information with other
sources?

7. OBJECTIVITY
Clues to look for
 Check whether you can detect emotion in the information or the way
it is presented. (bias)
 What is present in the article and what is missing?
 Advertising may cause a conflict of interest or it may boost
credibility.
 Do a check to see who has put this site in their own links.
www.google.com or www.yahoo.com
Type in the search window: Link (space) all or part of url

8. CURRENCY
how recent the information is and its usefulness to the present
Questions to ask:
• Is the page dated?
• When was the page last updated?
• How current are the links?

9. CURRENCY
Clues to look for
 Check at top of article or bottom of page. (no real accurate way to
do this anymore since pages are dynamic)
 Check for a revision date.
 Links that lead to expired pages mean the site hasn’t been updated
or checked on regularly.

10. COVERAGE
the extent to which the information has been thoroughly
examined and presented
Questions to ask:
• How in depth is the information?
• Has anything been left out?
• How much of the information has been
published?

11. COVERAGE
Clues to look for
Look for an index or site map, archives.
Are there references to other resources
for getting the complete works?