How to evaluate
websites easily for credibility
When looking for
credible information there are certain criteria that you can look for in a
website before using the information given on the website. Evaluating a website
for its credibility is not easy but here are some of the things that can help
you evaluate a website.
The look of the website
A website that is
credible and reliable usually has a more professional feel to it than the
websites that are used by people for personal use.
The URL of the website
The URL is also a good
indication of a reliable website. URLs such as .edu, .com, .net, .gov, and .org
present different meanings.
● Advocacy resources - the resources that are sponsored by an
organization, usually having the URL .org, with the motive of selling ideas and
influencing people are known as advocacy resources.
● Informational resources - the websites that only present
factual information usually sponsored or owned by governmental agencies or
educational institutions are called informational resources. These sources
have .edu or .gov as the URL.
● Marketing or business resources - a website that is
owned by a commercial business that is trying to sell products are known as the
marketing resources. Marketing resources are biased most of the time.
● News resources - These websites offer very current information
on trending topics. Although academic journals and newspapers are generally
more reliable than news sources, the credibility of a paper differs. These
websites usually end with a .com.
● Personal pages - The sites such as blogs, social media,
Twitter pages, and Facebook that are owned by people for their personal use
comes under the category of personal pages. Such pages are not considered in
academic papers because these resources are good for understanding people’s
views but not for incorporating credible information.
Advertisements
on the website
Advertisements on a website may indicate that a
website is not very reliable. While the credibility of a source does not only
depend on whether the website has advertisements or not but it is helpful to
look at the kind of advertisements on the website.
The links
to the website
Working links on the page is also a great
indication of a well-kept website and shows that the website is taken care of
and the information on it will be reliable and up-to-date.
Updates
on the page
Check the date of the last update on the
website you are accessing, this information will tell you how often the
website's information is updated. It is a piece of valuable information as it
determines the credibility of information, the accuracy of data, and the
currency of the website.
Conclusion
Checking the credibility of a website is very
important before relying on the information present on it. These indicators are
a good way to determine the credibility of a page or a website. Such as
checking for updates, checking the links, noticing the URL, looking for
advertisements, and the look of the website are helpful for you to always use
credible sources for your research.
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