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Authority
Look for the following characteristics to determine what is or what is not a scholarly Internet source:
- Authority
- Are the author or authors identified?
- Do they have scholarly credentials, or credentials within the appropriate field of expertise?
- Is the cite have an .edu domain?
- Structure
- Do the authors cite the works from which they drew inspiration and/or information?
- Do illustrations relay vital information (charts, etc.), rather than simply making the site more attractive?
- Content
- Is the intended audience a group of scholars or a group of people who have expertise in a particular trade or profession?
- Is the language is specific to the discipline or intended for large audiences?
- How credible and authentic are the links to other resources?
- Are the links evaluated or annotated in any way?
- Date
- Is there a date indicating when the page was last updated?
