Evaluating Web Sites for Research: Part 5

When doing Internet research, there are some types of web sites you should be careful about using, and still others that you should avoid altogether.

Blogs: "blog" is a word that is short for "weblog" and refers to online diaries that people create on their own. A lot of blogs simply consist of subjective opinions that have little, if any, basis in fact. If you would like to cite a blog for your research, you must first check the blogger's credentials and their intentions behind posting the information.

"Wikis": sites such as wikipedia, lyricwiki and wikihow are open sites that can be edited by anyone, often anonymously. I would avoid these sites altogether, because you can never be sure of the reliability of the information contained in wikis.

Manufacturer's sites: If you are doing research on the health benefits of green tea, I would avoid citing the web site of a company that sells it, because its claims about green tea may or may not have been evaluated by the FDA. Manufacturers often make inaccurate or outlandish claims to boost their sales.