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Because of the unrestricted nature of Internet publishing, it is especially
important that you verify the quality of any information you intend to use in
your academic work. Key considerations are:
- the purpose of the site
Does the site exist to entertain, or for commercial promotion?
Is some bias evident?
If there a sponsor for the site, what is their motivation?
- the authority of the author(s)
Are the authors of the site and its content recognised experts in that field?
Is sufficient information presented about the author(s) to verify expertise?
(e.g. are they members of relevant university department?)
- the accuracy of the information
Are there spelling, typographical or other errors in presentation?
Does the information presented contain any inaccuracies?
- whether the information has undergone an editing process
(e.g. an online academic conference paper will have been expertly reviewed
and edited prior to posting, whereas a personal Web site is not subject to
such quality checks)
- the currency of the site and the information presented
Is the site well maintained (e.g. no broken links)?
When was the site last updated?
- whether there are contact details included in the site
Is the author/site maintainer easily contacted to answer queries?
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