So with the advent and popularity of popular sites such as Wikipedia, how can you tell if the information you are reading is accurate or not? That is what I have been researching over the past couple of weeks. And to tell you honestly, there is no real way other than looking at multiple resources and checking to see the credibility of the website or article itself to see if it is sponsored or in affiliation with a credible organization. Use your gut instinct if something seems to be 'off', there's a chance that it might warrant looking somewhere else, or at least referring to a different site to confirm the validity of the information. The website www.internetfamilyfun.com has another 'laundry list' of ways to check a sites reliability. They mention that the appearance of the site alone can help determine the validity. They use the example of 18th Century History and going to a site that has lots of cartoony pictures on it, might not be the best source of information. Does the site content match the site aesthetics? If not, you might be better off checking a different site. In conclusion, in order to find out the reliability of internet information, there are a few things to be aware of:
Who (if sponsored) is the site affiliated with?
What does the web domain end in? If it's .gov, .edu, or .(state initials), then it's more than likely legit.
Does the site or article author explain his/her credentials?
Does the site appearance reflect that of the content?
Was the info published and if so by whom?
These are just a few things to check for, but the best advice I could find and offer is to check multiple sources for reliability and accuracy. And don't forget to reference text books and other print media for confirming the accuracy of information.
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