A Note on Internet Sources

Be especially careful when evaluating online resources. It is often difficult to tell where something on the Internet came from or who wrote it. The lack of this information can make it very difficult to judge the credibility of the source. Although an editorial board reviews most print matter (books, articles, etc.) for accuracy and overall quality, it’s frequently difficult to confirm that the same is true for information on a Web site. There are some exceptions, however. If you are searching through an online database such as the Human Genome Database or Eldis: The Gateway to Development Information (a poverty database), it is highly likely that the documents in these collections have been reviewed. Likewise, online versions of print magazines and journals have usually been checked out by editors. And information from academic and government Web sites (those whose URLs end in .edu or .gov, respectively) is generally—but not always—trustworthy.