What to look for when trying to determine whether or not a website contains information you can trust:

AUTHORSHIP
Who wrote the information on this page? Look for "About" "Contact Us" "FAQ" or "Site Map"

VERIFY
Does the information on the page match what you already know about the topic? Verify using another source, preferably a trusted digital source like a subscription database or print.

CHECK THE URL
The end of every URL (Uniform Resource Locator) gives a clue about where the information comes from. How does knowing the source of the information help you evaluate it?

1) .com=commercial
2) .edu=educational institution
3) .gov=government
4) .org=nonprofit organization
5) .mil=military

WHAT'S A TILDE?
That funny little symbol on your keybopard that looks like this (~) and usually indicates a personal website that may not be affiliated with an organization. How should you treat information you find on a personal website?

UPDATES
Are you able to find dates on the information contained in the websites? When was the information last updated? What does that date tell you as a researcher?

BIAS
Bias is "a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation." Is it bad for a website to be biased? Why or why not? How can you tell if a website is biased? Hint: is the author trying to persuade you of something? What kind of words do they use to do that? Compare these websites. Is the information presented in a similar way? Can you identify the agenda of each website? What is it? How could you tell?

COMMON SENSE
When all else fails, use your common sense. Does the information seem "right" to you? Are there spelling or navigation errors? Is the above information hard to locate? If you have any doubts at all, use a trusted digital or print resource instead or ASK A LIBRARIAN.