How to evaluate online information resources?

In order to identify the best sources of information you need to:

Consider some characteristics of the information we retrieve (accuracy, authorship, objectivity, purpose, among others).
Be able to identify the different types of information resources that exist.

Javier Martínez (2013) identifies different types of information sources that can be used in scientific work:

Consider some characteristics of the information we retrieve (accuracy, authorship, objectivity, purpose, among others).
Be able to identify the different types of information resources that exist.
Handbooks, reference books
Scientific research monographs (books)
Collective works, compilations
Conference proceedings
Scientific papers
Theses or Dissertations
Standards
Legal documents
Working papers

Evaluating information sources is an important part of the research process:

Not all information is reliable or true.
Not all information is suitable for your paper or project.
Print and Internet sources vary widely in their authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, and coverage.
Users must be able to critically evaluate the relevance of all types of information sources prior to relying on the information.

The Internet has surpassed most libraries in the quantity of information it makes available. Nevertheless, it has not surpassed libraries in the overall quality of information it makes available. Traditionally, the main component of library collections has been print (paper) materials. Today, many online resources are being added to supplement collections, replace printed (paper) items, or improve access. Although online sources are accessible via the Internet, many originated in paper form and follow the same publication criteria. Therefore the quality of print and online information sources are similar.

In the case of information that is made available online you need to pay attention to the fact that anyone can, with no supervision or review at all, put up a web page. No systematic monitoring of content, except for articles published online of otherwise reputable scholarly journals and books. Biases, hidden agendas, distorted perspectives, commercial promotions, inaccuracies, and so on are not monitored.

No standard format for websites and documents. Web pages exhibit fewer clues regarding their origins and authoritativeness than print sources. Important information, such as dates, author(s), and references are not always easy to locate. While a reader can easily note this information in a book or periodical article, the web user must often search through several pages, if the information is provided at all.

This means that there is no overriding organization or governing body ensuring the validity of web page content. There is a good deal of high-quality information on the web, but there is also much that is of questionable quality. Do not assume that information on the web is more current or accurate. Is the user’s responsibility to evaluate information sources, in print and on the web, which they find during the research process before using it in a paper or presentation.

In order to facilitate your work when searching for information we recommend you to use the following criteria to evaluate online information resources:

Authority: reveals that the person, institution or agency responsible for a site has the qualifications and knowledge to do so.
Purpose: The purpose of the information should be clear. Some sites are meant to inform, persuade, state an opinion, entertain, or parody something or someone.
Coverage: It is difficult to assess the extent of coverage since depth in a site, through the use of links, can be infinite. One author may claim comprehensive coverage of a topic while another may cover just one aspect of a topic.
Currency: Refers to: 1) how current the information presented is, and 2) how often the site is updated or maintained.
Objectivity: Should be clear. Beware of sites that contain bias or do not admit its bias freely. Objective sites present information with a minimum of bias.
Accuracy/Quality: There are few standards to verify the accuracy of the information on the web. It is the responsibility of the reader to assess the information presented.

In order to evaluate the quality of the online information resources try to answer to some of the following questions in respect to each criteria:

AUTHORITY	Who is the creator, author or sponsor? What credentials does the author or organization have? Does their experience or education indicate that they could be considered “experts”? Is information about the creator easily found? Is information provided about funding sources or data gathering for the work?
PURPOSE / POINT OF VIEW	What is the purpose of the site? Is it obvious what it is for? Are they trying to sell you something or promote an idea? Who is the intended audience? Is there a strong bias, an aggressive use of language, or a balanced tone? Are there lots of pop-ups and irrelevant ads?
COVERAGE	Does the site claim to be selective or comprehensive? Are the topics explored in depth? (Compare the value of the site’s information compared to other similar sites). Do the links go to outside sites rather than its own? Does the site provide information with no relevant outside links?
CURRENCY	How recent is the information, does it matter to your topic? Has the resource been consistently updated/revised? Are links current and working?
OBJECTIVITY	Does the author present objective arguments or make it clear when he is expressing biased opinions? Are other points of view explored? Is the site trying to explain, inform, persuade, or sell something? Is the website part of a commercial organisation, a political party or an organisation with a specific agenda? If yes, question the motives for publishing the information.
ACCURACY/QUALITY	Reliability: Is the author affiliated with a known, respectable institution? References: do statistics and other factual information receive proper references as to their origin? Does the reading you have already done on the subject make the information seem accurate? Is the information comparable to other sites on the same topic? Does the text follow basic rules of grammar, spelling and composition? Is a bibliography or reference list included?
DOMAINS/URLs	Domain name types and checking out the URL or the DOI for the page or site can provide some help. Some of the basics are: .com – commercial business (the most common TLD) org – organizations (typically, nonprofit) gov – government agencies. edu – educational institutions. net – network organizations. mil – military.

For more information on How to evaluate online information resources, please review the following resources.

Websites/Blogs:

Journal Articles:

Mandalios, J., 2013. RADAR: An approach for helping students evaluate Internet sources. Journal of information science, 39(4), p.470-478

Video resources:

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