From Wendy Boswell,
Your Guide to Web Search.
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Believe it or not, the Web does not always contain accurate information. In fact, every once in a while, you might come across something that (gasp!) is not true. Well, that’s to be expected, really – the Web is made by people, and people aren’t perfect, and people make up a LOT of coo-coo-crazy stuff.

Truth or Fiction?

Judging the truthfulness of information that you find online can be a bit problematic, especially if you’re looking for credible material you can cite in a research paper or academic project. Fiction and reality are not the same thing, but on the Web, it’s getting increasingly hard to tell the difference.

To Cite or Not to Cite - That is the Question

So how do you divide the wheat from the chaff? How can you tell if something you’re reading is true and reliable and worthy of a footnote? There are a number of litmus tests that you can put Web information through to ensure its trustworthiness. Keep reading for my basic evaluation checklist that you can use to evaluate any site you find on the Web.