Whatever source you find, "do the detective work" to check for all of the following:
1. The website has a credited AUTHOR and that author has relevant EXPERTISE
- You must verify some evidence of authority for the page
- If no individual author is named on the web page, then look at the bottom of the page for a copyright symbol (©). That will idenfity the organization which claims credit for publishing the information. Yes, an organization may be considered the author for a page. If there is no named author/organization, then skip it--the source is anonymous and you can't verify expertise.
- Whether the author named is an individual or a business/organization, you must learn their history and verify they're reputable and relevant in the field of biology, botany, zoology, or ecology. Click on "About us" links (viewable at the top or bottom of the website's home page), or conduct a fast Google search. Verify that the person or organization has a history working with biology/botany/conservation issues.
2. The website provides information about its source material and/or CREDITS ITS SOURCES
- You must verify some evidence of objectivity for the page
- If you can find a source which names where its data was pulled from, or a page that actively cites its sources with references, that's a good sign.
- Be wary of websites that are selling something; sometimes those sites are licensed with a .com domain to represent their "commercial" interests. Sites that have .edu domains (licensed to universities) and .org domains (licensed to not-for-profit organizations) are often used for informational purposes only.
3. The website posts its PUBLICATION DATE or date of last update
- You may consider the currency of the information on the page
- Currency is not so critical for plant & animal identification. These creatures have been around for thousands of years, and studied/documented for hundreds. So for identification purposes, information published/posted 15 years ago is likely to be as relevant as information published 2 years ago.
- Currency is more critical for issues related to current habitats, ecological threats, and conservation efforts. The landscape (both literal and metaphoric) has changed quite a lot over the past 50 years; on these topics, you'll want to find sources published no more than 5-10 years ago.