Test your URL in a different browser (e.g., Firefox vs. Chrome) to verify that it is stable.

• A stable URL often ends in .htm, .html, a slash, or no file extension

Don’t evaluate your source by the URL.

• ANY company or organization can buy ANY top-level domain (.com, .org or .net)

• Title
• Author
• Date of publication or update
• Publisher or sponsor
• Web Site or Web Project name (Cut the URL back to the “first slash” to check the name.)

What is the author’s purpose (e.g., persuade, inform, describe)? How do you know?

• What’s the main idea?
• Does the author consider other views?
• Whose perspective is missing?
• Could I interpret things differently?

How does this source fit?

• Does this make sense, given what I already know?
• Does this source add a different point of view?

Who does the author link to, quote, or reference?

• Has the author presented the original source information accurately?

How strong is the evidence?

• If there is a study or poll, is the sample size large enough to represent the population accurately?

Corroborate the facts

• Verify information in other types of media (e.g., journals, magazines, blogs, reports)

Information on science, current events and living people changes rapidly. What is the publication date?

Why would this organization publish this information?

Tip: Read the “About” page.

The author’s expertise and credentials should relate to your subject. A credible contributor might:

• Hold a degree in this subject
• Study or do research on this topic
• Work in a related field
• Write about this topic regularly
• Have first-hand knowledge
• Have participated in, or observed, events and people

A Web Project is a section of a Web site that has:

• A topical focus
• A section title

All the Web pages within one domain are called a Web site.

A Web page is an online source of any length.

A Web page appears in many formats.