Millions of Internet web sites are available-more are created every day. Some are excellent. Many are personal creative ventures and others have no academic value whatsoever. With this diverse wealth of resources, how is a web site rated for its usefulness and validity? Here are some questions to ask when evaluating any web site.

Accuracy & Authority

• Who created the site?
• Is the person qualified?
• Does the author give an e-mail address or contact information?
• Is the site sponsored by an organization? A business? An educational institution?

Objectivity

• Why was the site created? What is the site’s purpose?
• What opinions-if any-does the author give?
• Is the page an infomercial (advertising)?

Currency

• When was the site produced?
• Has it been updated?
• Is information outdated?
• Are links current and updated frequently?

Common Internet Domains

• .edu (educational institution)
• .org (organization)
• .com (commercial enterprise)
• .net (ISP-Internet Service Provider)
• .gov (government body)
• .mil (military body)

Newly Approved Internet Domains

• For information about new domain names, see ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)