Analyzing Internet Sources
The first and more important thing I learned was to look for credible sources. One way to do this is to look for bias and opinion. You should look for sources that are based solely on facts and will not attempt to shape your opinion of the topic when you read it. Another thing is to make sure you find your information in other sources to verify it is true and correct. Remember that it is difficult to spot credible sources online.
Another thing to keep on mind are legal issues regarding copyright and plagiarism. Just because something is online does not mean it is unprotected. I will use these practices by making sure that I do more extensive research when I find something online. Just because it is there doesn’t make it true. I want to stay free of any problems of that nature and make my work reflect my abilities as a student. How can you determine if the information on a website is reputable and worthwhile for a research paper?
Why is Wikipedia not an acceptable academic source? You can determine if the information is reputable and worthwhile by first looking at the URL. Most of the time if it ends with . edu or . gov it will be a good one. Also, another good thing to do is to research the authors and their credentials. You want to know who is writing this information and how qualified they really are. Another good tip is to look at the date.
Let’s say you are writing about something that happened recently. There can be new developments on the story daily and you want all your information to be up to date and correct. Wikipedia is not an acceptable academic source because it is an open source of information. That information is not monitored at any time and can be posted by anybody. Some people even go on Wikipedia and say they are an anonymous writer. How can you know it’s true if you don’t know who wrote it?
