Media & Journalism  Tags: media_studies media  

How do you discriminate between credible and non-credible information on the internet?  The following guidelines show suggested evaluation criteria that can help you determine whether the information is credible enough to be used for university assignments.

What to look for:

• Author
  Is the author identifiable and qualified to write about the topic? If the author is not listed then how do you know if they are qualified to write about the topic. 
  
• Publisher and Place
  Make sure they are identifiable.
  
• The Domain listed in the URL
  The domains .gov (from a government institution) or .edu (from an educational institution) are generally ok to use. The domain .org* (from a non profit organisation) needs to be assessed carefully. Some .org websites are credible and some are not.  For example you would not use information from  http://en.wikipedia.org in your assignment as it is an encyclopedia that can be updated by anyone (not necessarily an expert on the topic). Yet a site like http://www.youngmedia.org.au would generally be ok.
  You need to be wary of using information from a site with the domain .com (commercial site) as their interest is often to try and sell something, or promote a service. 
  
• Date
  Check that the date produced or published is given. This would help verify whether the information is up-to-date, or if the information may not be recent but is still valid.
  
• Coverage
  Information needed is covered in terms of time period, geographical area, or level of detail in relation to the topic.
  
• Content 
  Check that the information is not biased, and is correct in relation to information from other credible sources. Often information is opinion but pretends to be fact.

 Other ways to use the internet to find information:

• Use sites your lecturer has recommended in your unit materials.

• Use Google Scholar  If you find a reference to a journal article, check if the library has the full text of the article www.lib.latrobe.edu.au.  Set up your preferences for La Trobe University Library on your home computer for google scholar. This means in some cases you can be linked directly to the full text of articles to which the library subscribes.

Further information

These websites provide strategies to help you critically assess the quality of information that you find on the internet.