Modern Chinese Fiction and Film (EALC 318/518): Web Resources

Questions to ask:

Author

• Is the name of the author or creator on the page?
• Are his/her credentials listed (occupation, years of experience, position or education)?
• Is the author qualified to write on the given topic? Why?
• Is there contact information, such as an email address, somewhere on the page?
• Is there a link to a homepage?
• If the author is with an organization, what kind of organization is it?
• What does the domain name/URL say about the source of the information?
• If the owner is not identified, what can you tell about the origin of the site from the address?

Purpose

• Who is the intended audience?
• Scholarly audience or experts?
• General public or novices?
• If not stated, what do you think is the purpose of the site? Is the purpose to: Inform or Teach?  Explain or Enlighten? Persuade?  Sell a Product?

Objectivity

• Is the information covered fact, opinion, or propaganda?
• Is the author's point-of-view objective and impartial?
• Is the language free of emotion-rousing words and bias?
• Is the author affiliated with an organization?
• Does the author's affiliation with an institution or organization appear to bias the information?
• Does the content of the page have the official approval of the institution, organization, or company? 

Accuracy

• Are the sources for factual information clearly listed so that the information can be verified?
• Is it clear who has the ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of the content of the material?
• Can you verify any of the information in independent sources or from your own knowledge?
• Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
• Is the information free of grammatical, spelling, or typographical errors?

Reliability and Credibility

• Why should anyone believe information from this site?
• Does the information appear to be valid and well-researched, or is it unsupported by evidence?
• Are quotes and other strong assertions backed by sources that you could check through other means?
• What institution (company, government, university, etc.) supports this information?
• Is there a non-Web equivalent of this material that would provide a way of verifying its legitimacy?

Currency

• If timeliness of the information is important, is it kept up-to-date?
• Is there an indication of when the site was last updated?

Links

• Are links related to the topic and useful to the purpose of the site?
• Are links still current, or have they become dead ends?
• What kinds of sources are linked?
• Are the links evaluated or annotated in any way?

Conclusion

• Be very critical of any information you find on the Web and carefully examine each site.
• Print out or download pages you plan to use in your research so that your bibliography will be complete and accurate.
• Web pages are susceptible to both accidental and deliberate alteration, and may move or disappear with no notice.

(from Georgetown University Librariy website at http://www.library.georgetown.edu/tutorials/research-guides/evaluating-internet-content)