Authorship
The author of a body of work has perhaps the most important impact on the work’s credibility. An author whose work appears online and who is generally well-regarded either in the community as a whole for the quality of his work or within his specific field of study can be a reliable source of information. However, an author that is unknown to you requires investigation prior to relying upon or referring to his or her work. Research the author’s experience, amount of works produced and whether he or she is cited by other internet authors will provide you with insight into whether the author you are researching is a credible source. If, after your research, you are still uncertain, and the author has provided his or her contact information, ask the author about his credentials and expertise in the area of his work.
- Authorship
- The Internet, the Self, Authorship and Plagiarism, by Susan Blum.
- Evaluating the Quality of WWW Resources, Authorship
- Evaluating Internet Resources, Author
- Authorship v. Scholarly Authorship
- Authorship and Affiliations; Author Qualifications
Publishing Body
On the Internet the publishing body of a work also impacts the works validity. Unlike the world of print publishing, where books and manuscripts are physically reviewed by editors, online publishing can be accomplished by anyone, anywhere, at any time. Publishing bodies that are affiliated with a school, government agency or organization, or which is a legally established non-profit group tend to be more reliable than other website publishers. However, take caution that the source was actually provided by the credible organization and is not merely linked to their page. Sometimes, individuals will create the appearance of being affiliated with a credible group by making their web address similar to the groups. Therefore, you should always check that the source was actually posted by the credible organization and not an imposter.
- Evaluation of Web Documents
- Evaluating Web Pages
- Special Demands of Internet Sources, Types of Websites
- Evaluating Internet Sources, Site Examples
- Evaluating Health Information on the Internet
- Evaluating and Validating Information Sources, Including Web Sites
Point of View or Bias
While a manuscript containing a bias is not necessarily untrustworthy, it does raise questions about whether its facts are correct. Often, biased authors skew facts to support their point of view. A good rule of thumb is to only take facts from neutral authors or reporting agencies. From these facts you can then develop your own opinion. If you are interested in one or more author’s opinions on a subject you can use their writings for that purpose, but you should still gather facts from a neutral party. If you are uncertain whether a document presents the unbiased truth, search for other documents on the same topic and compare their content.
- Studies Look At News Bias And Internet’s Impact On Coverage
- Intentionally Misleading Websites
- News Bias Explored
- Objectivity
- Evaluating Internet Sources, Objectivity
- Information Quality: Is the Truth Out There?
Referral to Other Sources
References to other sources indicate that an author has thoroughly researched or is otherwise knowledgeable about the topic of his or her writing. Citations to other authors or texts demonstrate that the writer’s statements are based on fact and not the product of guesswork. A document without sources may present a point of view rather than information. Merely containing a bibliography, however, is not sufficient to satisfy the issue of whether the author is credible. Always investigate the cited sources to ensure that they are actual texts and reliable themselves.
- National Archives User’s Guide to the Internet
- Ten Tips on Evaluating Immunization Information on the Internet
- A Note on Citations
- Scholarly vs. Popular Sources
- Quality of Information Online
- Retrieving Cited Sources Online
Verifiability
The verifiability of a document refers to whether a reader can find the sources, information and statistics in the document and perform the same analysis as did the author. Of course, some of the author’s sources may only have been available to him or her because of their special position in the field, but other sources should be accessible by the general public. Information that you can easily check for accuracy is more reliable than facts that you are expected to take as true with no supporting evidence of their being such. In addition to verifying sources, the method used by the author should be one pertinent and accepted in the field of study.
- Evaluating and Citing Online Resources
- Online Sources: Trust But Verify
- Verifying & Evaluating Online Sources
- Assessing the Credibility of Online Sources
- The Reliability of Online Information
- Know Your Source: Assessing Credibility Online
Currency
The issue of currency as it relates to information found online is not one of dollars, but rather of its pertinence to the immediate present. This “currency” relates to date the document was published, the date of publication of its cited works and the date of release of any data the author relied upon in his or her analysis. The currency of these issues can be verified by checking their publication or revision dates. A recently written or updated Internet document is more credible than an old or outdated one.