WORKING WITH STUDENT WRITING
Teaching Students to Write Research Papers

When using websites to conduct research, consider the following:

If the authorship and the sponsorship of a site are both unclear, be extremely suspicious of the site.
Is there an author? (Check the home page or “About This Site” link)
Can you tell whether the author is knowledgeable and credible?
Who, if anyone, sponsors the site?
What does the domain tell you? The domain often specifies the type of group hosting the site: Commercial (.com), educational (.edu), nonprofit (.org), governmental (.gov), military (.mil), or network (.net).
Why was the site created? To argue a position? To sell a product? To inform readers?
Who is the site’s intended audience?
How current is the site?
How current are the site’s links?

The Library has developed an excellent and robust web page on this:Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply and Questions to Ask.

WORKING WITH STUDENT WRITINGTeaching Students to Write Research Papers