Currency
Unless you are looking for historical information that hasn't changed, it's vital that you use web pages with current, up-to-date information. A good web page will have a date somewhere on it, usually near the bottom.
Also look to see if the page has been updated or not. Again, the "last updated" date is usually somewhere near the bottom. Pages that are consistently updated show that there is a person actively caring for and editing the page. Old pages that are never updated may be abandoned by their creators and no longer relevant.
Finally, look at the supporting links -- are they still active or are there dead links in the page? Dead links are a sign that either the page has been abandoned or it wasn't a good page in the first place.
Examples
| Autism and Vaccines | ||
 |
 |
|
| This site was recently reviewed and updated. All links work and there are no broken images. | In addition to most of the links going to broken pages, this page has not been updated since 2009. Health information changes very quickly. You want to make sure you have the most up-to-date information! | |
| Bitcoiin | ||
 |
 |
|
|
All the links, images, and navigation work on this site - but that doesn't mean it's a good site. Bitcoiin (yes, with two "i") received a cease-and-desist order in 2018 and can only be traded on one unregulated market. Because this is a probable scam, I did not link to it. |
And just because a site is constantly updated, doesn't mean it's a good site for research. Stay away from Reddit if you want to succeed in college. |
