Evaluating Online Information Sources
So you've found a dozen sources of information using the library and Google. Some appear to be rock-solid, some make ludicrous claims, and some are in between. How can you tell which sites are telling the truth? How can you confidently put any of this in your story?
Good question. Before we answer it, have a look at this site. Would you use it as a source for an article about metaphysics? If not, why not?
Sometimes it is very clear that a Web site is unreliable or unverifiable. But the opposite is not true: Even when a Web site looks very reliable, it may not be what you think it is.
Check out the following three links:
GlobalWarming.Org
NRDC's Global Warming Site
EPA's Global Warming Site
Can you answer the following questions about each?
- Who is responsible for the Web site?
- What reason does the site give for its existence?
- How would you contact the individuals responsible for the information on the site?
- Do the authors of the site's information have any qualifications that indicate their expertise on the subject of the site?
- How recently was the site updated?
- Do other respectable sources confirm or refute the information presented on the site?
These are the same questions a veteran journalist would ask of any information, whether it arrived in the mail, was overheard at lunch or came in an anonymous phone call. In any case, the goal is to filter the truth from a cacophony of competing sources, each with its own agenda.
One way to think about Web sites is as flyers tacked to a telephone pole. They may be factual or fictional, they may be malicious or well-intentioned. They may or may not include contact information. But until you know who tacked them up, why they tacked them up, and whether they have any legitimate reason to solicit, you should view all such communications with a skeptical eye.
Here are a few tools that can help you learn more about a particular Web site.
- Snopes.com - The author of this site tries to verify or debunk some of the wild claims that circulate around the Internet.
- Network Solutions - Typing a domain name into the "WhoIs" search tool on this site may retrieve some information about the domain's registrant, possibly including contact information.
Now, of the following sites, which do you trust?