BOOKWISE

You can’t believe everything you read on the web!  Evaluate sites for:

Currency:  Is it recent?  Is there a date last updated?

Credibility:  Who is the author or producer of the site?  Is it an .edu, .com, .gov or .org?  (.coms may be trying to sell you something).  Are the author’s credentials evident? 

Relevance:  What is the purpose of the site?  Does it have accurate and unbiased information?  Does it have college level information on your topic or is it geared toward elementary or high school students?  Is the site well organized?

Examples:

This site about frogs and other amphibians is recently updated, has information on its author and publisher, is produced by a university, has clearly stated purpose, has important and relevant scientific information: http://amphibiaweb.org

This site is also about frogs but is geared toward a younger audience and is not very academic or recent:  http://allaboutfrogs.org/froglnd.shtml

This site is a joke, but looks pretty official and convincing!  So be careful out there:  http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/