Evaluating Information Resources

Sources

Content

Support

Web Sites Reviewing Other Web Sites

Evaluating Support of Information Sources, page 2 of 2

Because anyone can publish anything on the World Wide Web at any time, it is important to be able to determine the timeliness of the information provided. Printed journals and books found in library collections always include publication and copyright information; information on a web site is oftentimes not dated in a similar manner.

Questions to Ask: Does the document include a publication date or a "last updated" date? Does the document include a date of copyright?

What to Look For:

• Can the date found on the web site be verified?
• Is there internal confirmation of the information?
  • Does it include information within the document such as "Based on 2000 US Census data"?

An example of reviewing a web site's information content for support and documentation.