How do we know if a website is a reliable source?
When I am using a website for research it is important that I know if the website, is legit and who the author is of the website. After my lecture today, I have learnt alot on how to know if a website is a reliable source to use information from.
The first steps in finding out whether the website is a reliable source are :
The Author - It is important to be aware who the author is of the website. You need to look for an "about" section, or "more about the author" link. You need to look if the author has any expertise about the subject in hand, do they have any experience within this subject? would you trust what they are saying about it?
Another way to find out whether the author of the website is trust worthy is by searching their name on google, and see if their name appears with any other websites such as education institutions.
The Domain of the website - This will tell you who is hosting the website, For example the website that I have been using today is 'British Swimming.Org' this shows that is is a non profit organisation, and the extension is technically open to all. Here are some more examples:
- edu = educational
- .com = commercial
- „ .mil = military
- „ .gov = government
- „ .org = nonprofit
Do not ignore the Suffix on the domain name this is important
What is the quality of information like on the website - it is important to check when the website was last updated, so you know that the information you are using is accurate and when it was published.
What other websites is the website linked to? if there are adverts on the side of the web page that don't link with the topic in hand this is an important factor to be aware of. . Is it cluttered
with advertising? Does the page appear to be professionally designed? Is the writing trying to
persuade you to buy something?
The last thing you need to be aware of and ask your self is what is the main purpose of the website? Why did the author publish this? was it to provide general information about a topic, to persuade you of a certain point of view, to sell a product?
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