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Evaluating Web Resources: Evaluating Blogs

This guide helps with assessing websites, blogs and other online tools.

So, what exactly is a blog?

A blog, originally known as a web log, is an online journal or column about a particular subject or area of interest. This interest can be personal or professional. While they often have one author, blogs can also have multiple contributors. Blogs are one of the fastest ways to publish and promote new information, especially as a topic emerges. This can mean that even those written by experts and professionals in a field, can be fraught with misinformation and unneccessary editorials. Use the questions below to decide whether a blog has value to your research and interests.

  Evaluating Blogs

Questions to consider when seeking information in a blog:

  • Who is the blogger?
  • What sorts of materials is the blogger reading or citing?
  • Does this blogger have influence? Who and how many people link to the blog? Who is commenting? Does this blog appear to be part of a community?
  • Is this content covered in any depth, with any authority? How sophisticated is the language, the spelling?
  • Is the site upfront about its bias? Does it recognize/discuss other points of view?