If you evaluate them!

• They can be a good source of information that's difficult to find elsewhere.
• They can provide the latest information (breaking news).
• They can be a good source of government information and research.

A person can come up with an idea and post it to the web, and you can see it immediately.

• No editing for accuracy
• No fact-checking
• No quality control

. . . as there would be for online databases, books, and print magazines and journals.

That is why it's important for you to critically evaluate the website before using it for a paper or speech.

SIFT 

Stop

Investigate the source

Find better coverage

Trace claims, quotes and media to the original context

for more on the SIFT method check out this blog post by Mike Caulfield

This work is copyrighted with a Creative Commons attribution license

Checking what other websites say about a source is a better evaluation strategy than trusting what the source says about itself.

Ask Yourself...

1. Who is behind the information?

2. What's the evidence?

3. What do other sources say?