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SSCI/MDIS 3005

Evaluating Websites

Unlike scholarly sources, popular sources can have a range of quality.  The Web is a wealth of unedited public discourse, but you have to be the judge of authority, timeliness, and balance.

  • .org sites may exist to persuade you. 
  • .com sites are about sales. 
  • .gov sites exist to provide the best information to citizens. 
  • .edu sites also a specific educational purpose. 

Beyond that, you have to evaluate whether the information is both relevant and authoritative.