Questions to ask

• Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
• Is there contact information for the author?
• What qualifications does this person or organisation have to discuss this topic? (Does the author have a university degree in the discipline? Is the author an amateur, or someone using the opportunity to express their own opinions?)
• Does the URL indicate what type of organisation the information is coming from? (If an organisation is responsible for the pages, is the organisation widely recognised as a source of scholarly and reliable information, e.g. CSIRO for science topics.)
• Has the author provided any evidence to back up their information?
• Can the information and the references be verified elsewhere?
• Is there any evidence the information has gone through a peer-review process?

What to look for on a webpage

• Information about the author and the author's contact details – look for a link to a university or professional organisation.
• Information about any organisation associated with the webpage – look for a link called "About Us" or something similar.
• Links to other articles and publications by the person or organisation.
• Is there a “Disclaimer statement” – this might indicate the website is a joke or a hoax?

If you can't find any information about the author on the webpage, do another search to see if it is possible to identify the credentials of the author and/or organisation.

What to look for in print material

• Check the book cover for biographical information about the author.
• Check within the source for a list of references, bibliography or footnotes.

​Remember: If you cannot verify that the information is authoritative, it is best not to use it.

One way to get a quick idea of who is sponsoring or publishing a website is to understand the domain name portion of the URL.