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Gerstein Science Information Centre

CSB198: Cell and Molecular Biology in the News

To help students find recent media articles on cell and molecular biology and explore the science behind them.

Website Evaluation

Commoncraft Video on Website Evaluation

Evaluating websites - video

Evaluating information from the web

Consider these criteria when looking for information on web sites:

Fact or Opinion or Bias

Is the information factual, not opinion?
Where arguments are given, are they based on strong evidence and good logic?
How valid is the research that is the source?
Are additional electronic and print sources referenced to complement or support the material presented?

Author/Sponsor

Is the information written by a specific author or an organisation?  Are there clues?
Is the author's or organisation's name given?
Are her/his qualifications specified?
Is the author affiliated with a reputable institution or organization?
Who is sponsoring this website?  Look at the url for clues (.edu is an U.S. educational institution,; gov is a government site; com is a commercial site)

Audience level

What audience is the Web site designed for?
Is it too basic or too technical for your needs?

Currency / Up to date

Health information changes quickly. Is this web site current?
Is the date of the most recent update given?

 

For more information, please see Find and Evaluate Health Information on the Web  written by the Medical Library Association.