Evaluating the Author

Take a look at the web page in the frame below, which is taken from http://www.stthomasu.ca/Fred~/Fredericton.html .

This page looks like it's representing a real place. It has some information about the city, some links to other pages about the city, and even an advertisement for the page's "sponsor." But notice that there's no information present about the author. We don't have any idea who wrote this page.

This page could have been written by the mayor of Fredericton, or by a college student with a lot of time on his or her hands. Without any knowledge of the author, it's hard to decide whether this is a valuable source of information.

When evaluating web pages, it's important to assess the credibility of the author. Since anyone can write anything and put it online, it's up to the reader to decide whether the author has the authority to write on the subject.

© 2001-2005 Albert L. Ingram, Ph.D.