 It can be difficult to identify fake information from FACT and being able to critically analyse a website is essential when researching for your university work. You'll need to be discerning of information you find and at source, you'll also need to question and confirm information to identify misinformation, disinformation or propaganda. You can follow these easy steps to evaluate websites for your work. Firstly, let's look at the information contained in a web address or URL. From this example web address we can see that it is a government website dot gov for the state of western australia dot wa in australia dot au. The domain name is for the western australian parliament dot parliament and the page is for a list of current bills. We can see the path to the file name after each backslash. Now we'll look at the steps you'll take to evaluate a website. How do you know that a website is credible? You should think about the currency, relevance, authority, accuracy and bias. Let's use this website as an example. First we'll look at the currency. When was the website created and last updated? The currency date is often located at the bottom of the website's home page but it can be anywhere on a page. If a date is not supplied look at the date of the latest post or article. Here's another example. If you need information on a current topic or on the latest research make sure the website has been recently updated. If you're looking for information that does not require current and up-to-date information then the currency date is less important. Next, consider the relevance of the source. Does the website have the information that you need? Scan through the information on the home page. Is the information at an appropriate level or is it too basic? Compare the website with other similar sites to determine which is the best to use. You also need to consider the authority of a website. The domain or name of a website gives an indication of the type of organization the site is linked to and the credibility of the information provided. For example, crime statistics could be sourced from a government website or from a security monitoring business. The government website would be considered credible and accurate whereas the statistics presented on the security monitoring business site may be inflated to encourage purchase of their services. Let's look at some more aspects of authority and credibility of website sources. Domains that include .gov, .edu or .ac.uk come from government or education sources and can be considered more trustworthy. Look at the author bio or the about page to assess the credibility. Is the author known within the field? What are their affiliations or credentials? Whose interests do they represent? Is their contact information available such as email, feedback form or telephone number? Sites that are cluttered, difficult to navigate or look unprofessional should be avoided. Is evidence provided to support claims? Does the writing provide more fact or opinion? Opinions are unsubstantiated claims. Are the sources properly referenced? If you can't tell who the author is or who created the website, you may want to select another website. You can limit a Google search to a specific domain by adding site, colon and the domain to your search words. Alternatively, you can choose Google's advanced search and use the following settings. Now let's look at accuracy. Be sure to cross-check the information you find on a website to verify that it's accurate and reliable. It's important to remember that you can't believe everything you read, so it's essential to consider multiple perspectives and visit other websites to compare information. Lastly, we'll look at bias. Why was the website created? Are affiliations and connections to other organizations clear on the website? Blog posts can often be a disguise for product or service advertising, where the bias, influence or product promotion may not be obvious. Clickbait. Do the headings match the articles or are they designed to entice readers? Objectivity. Is the author trying to convince you of their opinion or trying to promote or sell something? Fake or partisan news. Look for exaggeration of facts or quotes taken out of context. Have facts been manipulated to fit an agenda? And is the content balanced or giving extreme opinions? Is the purpose of informational content to educate, demonstrate or inform with balanced facts? These elements will help you determine whether a website is biased or less objective. Considering the website's currency, relevance, authority, accuracy and bias will help ensure our website is suitable to use for your research.