Unreliable Sites
Somtimes, it is easy to tell that a site is presenting unreliable information, but often unreliable sources are difficult to identify. The best way to tell if a site is unreliable is by thinking critically about the information presented. Here are some questions you may want to ask yourself as you review web sources:
Is this site a joke? Joke sites are often funny, but some of them are so slick that they can confuse even expert web users. Often an author of a joke site will create a web resource that looks authentic but is presenting information that sounds strange. Two examples of joke sites are http://www.dhmo.org/ and http://www.malepregnancy.com. Both sites look authentic, but both are jokes. If you find a site presenting information that sounds unlikely, examine the site carefully. Usually you can find some things that do not add up. For instance, on malepregnancy.com the date of the USAToday article is in Spring 2004, but the site also says that Mr. Lee has not given birth yet. Misleading links, or links that say they are taking you to one location but actually take you somewhere else, are common on joke sites (on dhmo.org, if you click the “United States Environmental Assessment” logo, it takes you to another page on dhmo.org). If the site provides references, check them. Finally, trust your judgement. If the information seems too weird to be true, it is probably not true.
Who created this site, and why? Think about the creators of the site and their intentions. Sometimes organizations present biased information that supports their point of view. If you are looking for sites on Southwestern archaeology, for example, you will often come across commercial sites selling artifacts. These sites are not good sources for information about laws restricting the sale of archaeological artifacts; often, their authors are violating those laws. You may also come across sites posting papers written by grade school students, or authored by people with little background on the subject. While these pages may be interesting, often the information they contain is not reliable. When you encounter a site, always think about whether you would trust the author if you met him or her in person.
Are there references for this information, and do they check out? As mentioned in the preceding section, good sites always provide references for the information they contain. When a site has no references at all, you know to be careful with the information. But some unreliable sites do contain references—just not good ones. Bad references include:
1. Misleading links, or links that look like they are going to one place but actually take you somewhere else. Always check the address bar to make sure a link has actually taken you where it said it would. See the “Joke Sites” section above for more information on misleading links.
2. References that don ot support the site. Often, unreliable sites provide references that do not contain the information that the site says they do. When you check references, look at them carefully to be sure they actually support the site.
3. References to other unreliable sources. Sometimes, a small network of unreliable sources will refer to each other. Use other criteria to decide whether you think the sources referenced are reliable.
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