There are a number of factors to consider in looking at Web pages in terms of academic reliability. Apply the same sort of criteria to electronic sources that you would towards print sources (obviously, you will have to adjust the ways in which you check for these criteria, but the idea remains essentially the same)

For example, if you were examining a print source, several items of information would be necessary to determine the usefulness of a particular source for an academic paper. Most of these have to do with determining whether or not there is a pre-exising bias (a conflict of interest) in the author that could slant the way in which a particular issue is presented. Another question that must be answered before ANY source, but especially an Internet source, can be used is "Where does the author get his/her expertise about the subject from?". In other words, what qualifications does the author have to be cited as a knowledgeable authority on the subject?

The following pages will have a series of links each dealing with the same subjects. As you look at them ask yourself the following questions:

1. Does the author of the page clearly state who he/she is so that you as a researcher can verify their status as an authority?
2. Is the page affiliated with a group, company or organization that might have a particular "agenda" or attitude towards the subject that would alter the manner in which they present their material.
   • Is the information presented objectively or with an inherent bias?
   • How does this affect the way the material can be used to support an argument you might be making concerning the particular subject?
3. Does the author cite any other material in presenting his/her arguments? That is, are there references to other works (either books, web pages, articles, albums, photographs, etc.) that establish this page as being not just the author's opinion? NOTE: This does not necessarily have to occur in the form of a bibliography, but Web etiquette is beginning to apply this sort of citation method to material more regularly.
4. What sort of language is used within the text of the page? Does this establish a certain tone that can affect the way that you read the material?
5. Do the graphics used by the author (if there are any?) add to the usefulness of the page as a resource or do they seem to distract you from the text?
6. Does the page seem more useful as ENTERTAINMENT or INFORMATION. This is an important question to ask yourself. Just as an example, think about the "Psychic Friends" network ads on television. They state in small print that their service is for "Entertainment Purposes Only" but obviously get customers by convincing them that what their "psychics" will tell them is true. What effect does being entertainment rather than information have on the reliability and "truth" (whatever that is...) of a particular piece of data?