How to Search the Web

• If you are using the information for a lighthearted e-mail, the source isn't that important. If you're conducting research for a professional report, or investing your child’s college fund, for example, you had better be sure your information is legitimate. Checking sources may sound arduous, but there are a few crucial questions that can aid you in your hunt for information.

• Who is the author(s)? What are their credentials? Look at the domain (the last part of the Web address, for example: .com, .org, or .edu). This will generally tell you what kind of a site you are using: .ac and .edu sites are regulated educational sites; .com and .biz sites are for commercial purposes; and .gov sites are U.S. government sites. Other endings to Web addresses can indicate the country of origin of the site. Some domains are sponsored and therefore heavily regulated (.jobs, .museum, and .travel are a few examples), while others are not sponsored. For an additional explanation of this system regarding top-level domains (TLDs), read this page from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

• Who is making the information available? How is the site being funded? Are they trying to sell you something? Does the site appear to have any social or political biases? The “About Us” section of a site is a good place to start but it shouldn’t be the end of your research. One way to look for additional company or author information is to try the name in a search engine. For an author, try searching the name along with key subject words to check for any additional work or credentials.

• When was the information first published? Has it been updated recently? Many Web pages indicate when they were created and last revised. Check the bottom of the page for a copyright date or look for a date near the byline of an article. Without a date, the timeliness of the information is difficult to evaluate.