| Content | Style | Feel | Credibility | Bias |
In terms of credibility, consider both the authors and the sponsors of the website. In general, websites that are on-line extensions of print media and scholarly journals are generally credible because they are adhering to professional standards for reporting and/or are peer reviewed. For example, an article posted on the on-line version of the JAMA is more credible than an unpublished article available on an academic's personal website. Although the JAMA article is attributed to an author, you are actually reading something that has gotten the seal of approval from other top scholars in the field. With a self-published paper, you do not have the benefit of the critical eye of others with the same depth of knowledge. A good rule of thumb for evaluating information on the internet is to ask yourself if the sponsor of the website is a well-known institution or organization that is publicly accountable.
In terms of bias, consider
that if the website is sponsored by a political or activist organization,
you must understand the bias or orientation toward an issue that this organization
holds. When evaluating for bias, you need to look at both the authors and
the sponsors of the website (if there is advertising). Information gleaned
from a website sponsored by an advocacy group will support the group's
perspective on an issue. Also, when a website is depending on companies
for advertising dollars, you can assume that the interests of those companies
impact the content of the website.