Verifying+Information+on+the+Web

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__Verifying Information on the Web__
To verify information found on another website, check the site against each of these tests:

Find an author and/or contact information.

 * If no one is putting their reputation on the line for this information...you should be asking "why aren't they?"
 * Is the author a professor or expert on the subject?
 * Is there a way to contact someone with inquiries? There should be someone taking responsibility for the information

Check the URL (.com, .org, .net, .gov, .edu) -- which are most reliable?

 * .gov and .edu websites are harder to get...more reliable organizations producing the information
 * .com, .net, .org websites are fairly easy to get...pretty much any body with anything to say can get one of these

Determine the purpose of the site.

 * Is it to share facts or is it more opinion-based?
 * Does the website show any biases or favoritism?

Check how current the information is.

 * Check for a date on the page.
 * Check to see if the links are still active.

= Test Your Skills =
 * [|NASA],
 * [|The Dangers of Bread],
 * [|The History of Bread],
 * [|Bread as explained on Wikipedia],
 * [|Home Sweet Home]

__For Super Searchers__
Did you know you can search a website URL to see who's talking about it? Seeing how many sites are linked to the site you are researching tells you something about the site's credibility. The greater the number, the more diverse, and the quality of institutions linking to the website will tell you that it is a site to be trusted.

In Google - "link"

 * In the search bar, type "link:and the URL your are verifying"
 * Example: //link:www.ipahawaii.org//

AltaVista - "site"

 * In the search bar, type "site:and the URL your are verifying"
 * Example: //site:www.ipahawaii.org//