If you're going to use websites as sources in research (and I highly recommend that you don't without a very good reason), make sure that the information presented is good and reliable. To do this, you need to evaluate the source. Here are some things to consider when evaluating a source:
- Who wrote this? - Is it a professor? An expert in the field? Some conspiracy nut in a trailer in the midwest? A 30-something person in their mother's basement?
- Why was this written? - Is it reporting the results of some sort of study or research? Is it pushing an agenda? Is it one of those sites that churns out articles and pays authors by the word/page?
- When was this written? - This one is a little tougher to pin down.
- Where did the information come from? - Did they cite their sources? If they did, make sure their sources don't stink. If they didn't, then there's a decent chance you shouldn't be using this (not as important if you're using it as a primary source in some cases)
- What audience is this intended for? - Anyone? Someone with a specific subject background?
Blogs are generally unacceptable sources for academic level research, but it does depend on your topic and assignment. Make sure to evaluate what you're looking at, and know what it's flaws are (if any) before you use it as a source.
Wikipedia has created a guide on how to evaluate their articles - these same skills apply! You can use their guide as a more in-depth practice guide.
