The Reliability of Internet Sources

Many sources of information can be found on the web with a vast range of ideas and viewpoints. When presented with all of these options, it can become challenging to differentiate a legitimate source from others that have no reliability at all. Especially with highly contested issues, the information available can range from very reliable to completely false. Using the theory of evolution as an example, we will discuss what differentiates a useful source from a biased or false one.

The first source we found on evolution was a website called conservapedia. The name of the website itself already illustrates a common problem with politically charged topics. Since the website clearly has a conservative agenda, the information on there will most likely be biased towards that viewpoint. Since this website is also a crowd sourced encyclopedia, the information presented on it only represents the general belief within the culture that is attracted to a conservative website. None of the claims are peer reviewed as in a scholarly journal. Since there is no way to know exactly who provided the information on the site and you know that the information has not been reviewed by a neutral party the source is highly unreliable.

Our next source, by Professor Grover Krantz, is found on the website onelife. This source provides a much more valid interpretation on this topic of evolution. This source is credited to a highly touted Washington State University professor, so not only does the viewer know that they are getting credible information, they can also look up and see information on the professor himself. With further research on Professor Krantz, a viewer can find his resume which proves that he has relevant experience in the field, adding credibility to the source.

The last source we will discuss is this article posted to the Onion back in 2006. The article states that Kansas had supposedly passed a new law to ensure that "the streets, forests, plains, and rivers of Kansas will be safe from the godless practice of evolution." This shows the importance of doing as much research as possible on the website that hosts your source. The Onion is obviously a comedy website, and nothing on it should be used for a serious essay.

While doing this research on evolution, some guidelines that we came up with several guidelines for determining a valid source. First, the source must not be obviously biased. It is best if the source acknowledges several sides of the issue, not just a single point. Also, obvious political ties are an immediate red flag. Next check the mechanics of the writing. If there are grammar errors throughout the source is most likely not reliable. Finally, do research on the author of the source, and check any other authors that they refer to as resources used to produce their text.