Sohrab Daver
University of Phoenix
Abstract
Internet has gained tremendous significance and dependability in today 's world. It has become a usual source of information. It provides lots of information on any desired subject. Majority of the users believe that this information is accurate, reliable and credible, just because they could find it, online. A user takes a risk by believing this information without evaluating its credibility. Just because it 's found on the Internet doesn 't mean it is reliable and trustworthy. The credibility of information should be evaluated before using of it.
This paper suggests ten ways of determining the credibility and accuracy of information on the internet.
Internet has quickly become a viable technology used by an estimated 130 million people in 171 countries for a variety of communication and information sharing tasks.(University of Phoenix, 2007, ADM Digital Library) The accuracy of the information should to be evaluated before making its use.
Following methods can help evaluate the credibility of information obtained from the Internet.
1. Evaluation of Source:
I would consider this method one of the most important methods for evaluating credibility. The source needs to be genuine. Information obtained from a reputed publication is always trustworthy. For example, the publishers like, Mc-Grwa-Hill, Wiley, Springer Verlag, Cambridge University Press, etc. are pretty reliable sources. Information published by scholarly journals such as those published by professional recognized societies, (Ronald B Standler 2003-2004) are reliable and can be termed as credential. Seeking medical advice from the internet without evaluating the source can be very dangerous. The research from University College London (UCL) has shown that many people would be in a better state of health if they followed advice from their doctor rather than relying on information found online. (Ref: 1)
References: Reference University of Phoenix, 2007, ADM Digital Library (Ronald B Standler 2003-2004)Evaluating Credibility of Information on the internet.