Students often employ web search engines when seeking sources for research papers. Search engines often produce a vast variety of results, regardless of how sophisticated the search syntax may have been. Some of the results may be usable for serious academic research; others may not be. What considerations should one use when determining the reliability of web sources for academic research?

When deciding whether to use web information as a source, first consider the background and intended audience of the page based on its content, tone, style, host website, and other relevant factors as outlined below. If it meets the criteria for your paper, then review the checklist below to ensure you have all necessary citation data.

What is the origin and background of the information?

1. Has the author (or institutional 'publisher') of the information been identified?
2. Have the 'expertise' credentials of the author for this subject been indicated on a credentials page? (One may need to trace back in the site's URL to find a higher-level page with background information)
3. Does the website host or sponsor seem appropriate or reliable for the material? For example:
   • .edu sites are usually more reliable for educational or research material
   • .gov sites would be the natural location for government reports and statistics
   • .com sites are for commercial products or are commercially-sponsored sites (thus information therein would often support the product in question rather than being purely objective)
   • URLs with a <www.somewhere.org/~NAME> syntax almost always indicate a personal home page with no official sanction; even on an .edu site they would not carry any "official" support, compared to a URL such as <www.somewhere.org/thinktank/research> on the same website.
   • Is there a personal or institutional e-mail address available for the information in case one has questions or comments?

How reliable is web page content as research material?

It should go without saying that just because information has been "published" on the web, it should not automatically be believed. In contrast to scholarly journals and books [print references], which are professionally edited, website material is seldom refereed or reviewed. If the information is in a "personal" home page, instead of in an educational website directory or, for example, in the website of an online newspaper or academic journal, the "facts" presented may be unsupported or biased "opinion" rather than data that will withstand scholarly inquiry.

When considering the reliability of web page information, keep these questions in mind:

• Does the page seem to be objective, or does it have a personal bias or political point of view?
• If the page includes references to "facts" or points of view, does it give the source of this information?
• If the page covers a specific time period or aspect of a topic, does it attempt to be comprehensive? Does it give an in-depth view of the topic, or only a superficial impression?
• Is the information presented backed up by print sources and/or other web pages on the same topic? Or is the information clearly different than in any other source?
• If the information is clearly different, this does not necessarily mean it is unreliable. But it does mean you need to investigate the credibility further. Is there, for example, an e-mail list of "experts" on the topic you could consult for opinions on the reliability of the web page's information, point of view, or author?
• What other organizations or individuals have linked to this page or the overall site? Are they 'reputable' and 'objective', or do they seem to have a particular bias? [To determine who has linked to a particular page you can use the "link" command in most search engines, such as Google. To find who has linked into the FAST Glossary Center, for example, the syntax would be as follows: link:www.uta.fi/FAST/GC]
• Is the material current? Has the page and/or website been updated recently, as reflected in the date on the page, or in the other pages linked from the page in question (Are the links still valid? Do they lead to new material or things posted years ago)? Are links from the page relevant and appropriate, or do they lead to sources that exhibit personal or political bias or a lack of academic seriousness?
• Is the page layout clear and logical? Is the writing style and language appropriate for the topic and intended audience? While not absolute determinants, such factors are often markers of the reliability of page content.

The Final Step: Citation Checklist

Use this checklist to ensure you have adequate citation data for your web source(s). The following information must be available to use web sources in your papers. (See also Internet Citation Examples).

1. What is the title of the page or article or document?
2. What is the author's name (and title and position, if available)
3. What institution or organization "publishes" the page/site?
4. What is the date of the page's creation or last update, or its version number?
5. What is the URL of the page? (If the website uses "frames", make sure you have the URL of the exact page or frame in question [right-click your mouse on the page, select "Open Frame in New Window" and get the URL of the page from that window])
6. What was the date you visited or consulted the site? Note that this is compulsory if the page comprises "changeable" data, or if there is no date or version number
7. If the page is "perishable," create and keep (and possibly include as a supplement to your paper) an electronic copy of the page in order to protect your source material, and yourself. Common examples of "perishable" material include newspaper articles in a paper's online archive that may be taken offline or moved to a subscription service a few weeks after its publication date, or content in a student or staff member's personal home pages that may vanish after the end of an academic term when the student or staff member moves on,
8. Is the page in an open, public website, or is it in a subscription-only or member-only website that you might be able to access but others can't? If access by others is restricted, again copy and save the original to protect your source and yourself. In this case the copy would usually need to be included as an Appendix (or otherwise) in your paper, as the source is not "publicly available."
9. Is the page in HTML, PDF or RTF (or some other format)? If other than HTML, the format should be indicated in your citation. And, if other than HTML, are there then specific page numbers (for example in a PDF file) you should insert in your citation to give the exact location of the material you are using within the larger file?