Critical Thinking and Internet Resources

Here is a summary of some essential questions we can teach students to consider in order to validate the Internet resources they may be using.  Credit for the content in this page goes to Michael Fuller.  His email is fullerm@po.muohio.edu.  See Dr. Duane Campbell at CSUS for more information on the author.

Authorship and Source

1. Who is providing the information?
2. What is the author's authority?
3. Does the author provide detailed support for his/her authority?
4. Does the author provide a means to contact him/her?
5. Is the site supported or funded by a recognized institution or organization?
6. Is there a relationship between the author and/or the publisher?
7. Was there peer review or scrutiny applied to the author's thinking?
8. Why is the author writing this piece?

Objectivity and Bias

1. Are both sides of the controversy presented?
2. Are biases stated?
3. Is there a racial or gender bias evident?
4. Is there a vested interest in the organization that hosts the site?
5. Is there sponsorship by the hosting organization?
6. Are there advertisements on the page that might influence the author?

Validity of Content

1. Is the methodology described?
2. Was there a peer review process?
3. Are there verifiable statistics or data?
4. Is there a recognized style manual used?

Bibliography or References

1. Is there a bibliography?
2. Does the bibliography follow a particular style manual?
3. Are there lists of references or links to related topics?
4. Does the author give information as to the type of resources readers are likely to link to?
5. Do links direct the reader to resources or simply to lists of resources?

Currency

1. When was the data or information collected?
2. When was the document first published?
3. Is the document updated?
4. Does the author commit to updating the site?

Quality of Writing

1. Is the text well written?
2. Is the site written hastily or incompletely?
3. Are data clear and easily interpreted?
4. Is the text free of jargon?