The internet contains valuable information such as educational (.edu) and government (.gov) sites and open access scholarly material. It also contains questionable and inaccurate material. Carefully evaluate online sources using the following criteria:

Currency - Is the information dated and is the date appropriate for your topic? Look for published, copyright or last updated date.

Reliability - Is the information something you can trust? Who is the publisher and are there links to their sources?

Authority - Who is providing the information? Look for the author and their credentials.

Purpose and Point of View - Why is this information on the internet? Who is the intended audience, what is the purpose/bias?