The Internet has made it really easy for students to conduct online research for their papers. Most magazines and newspapers publish online editions, and large electronic databases house thousands of full-text articles from scholarly journals. In addition to these standard sources, there are also other websites where students can locate information. This is great because it exponentially increases the number of potential sources that students have for finding facts, statistics, quotes, etc. However, not all of these sources are credible and legitimate (i.e., you click on the link for a website and the homepage displays the picture of the author, which resembles a grade school class photo). Therefore, students must be mindful of the sources they’re using, and they also need to assess their credibility. Below are some points to consider when evaluating an online source’s credibility. The Web Address Suffix: The easiest way to first gauge the credibility of an online source is to check the web address suffix. Those sites that end in .edu and .gov are generally thought of as credible as they are managed by educational institutions or by the government. Many .org sites are run by non-profit organizations, in which they do not profit from their sites; however, some organizations might be biased and on-sided, so it’s important to make sure the source includes opposing viewpoints and facts. The most common suffix, .com, can mean a variety of thing. Many .com sites seek monetary gain; therefore, it’s important that you search other areas of the website to assess its credibility. The Producer of the Website: A key indicator of a website’s credibility is the credibility of its producer. If you have never heard about the organization or owner before, it’s important to read about their background and affiliations. You can also perform a Google search to read about any reviews or information about that particular group or person. The Author’s Title and Background: When locating sources via websites, it’s often best to look for the author’s title and other biographical information. Some articles and news pages include a brief author bio at the end of the document, and some websites contain entire pages devoted to the author’s bio. You can ask yourself the following questions: Is this person a professional in the field? Where else has he/she been published? Does his/her education and work background make them a reliable and knowledgeable source? The Date of Publication: One of the most critical first steps to assessing a source’s credibility is to locate the publication date. For articles, it’s important to find the date in which the material was published online. If a specific publication date for the information does not exist, then you can look for the date in which the webpage or website was last updated. Keep in mind that some subjects, like history and English, might accept materials that were published several years ago, and other subjects, like science and business, might only accept materials that were published more recently.