When teens are doing research for a school project, how can they decide which Web sources to use? Have your teen look for these items:

Author. Every webpage should give the name and email address of the person who wrote the content. Teens should do some research on the author. Is the person an expert in the field? What else has the author written?

Site sponsor. There should be a link on any webpage to the sponsor of the site. Check the sponsor’s home page. Make sure it has a postal address and phone number. Otherwise, the site is probably not a credible source. Many companies and organizations sponsor websites. Consider any bias they may have when using their site.

Date. Websites should always list the date they were last updated. Current information is usually more reliable.

List of works cited. Where did the author of the site get the information used? The list should include both print and online sources.

Originality. Your teen may find a website that plagiarizes from other sources. This is a signal that the site is not a good one to quote.

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