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How to Evaluate Websites
You should check online information for reliability against the following points:
| What you need to know | What you should ask yourself | What you need to look for |
| Authority It is clear who has written the information |
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| Relevancy The information is relevant to you |
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| Accuracy The information can be checked |
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| Timely The information is current |
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| Bias What type of information is presented |
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URL: What does the URL (Web address) say about the producer of the web site, and its purpose? Look at the suffix in the domain name; this should give you an idea of who the author/publisher is.
- .com Commercial site
- .edu US institutions
- .gov Government agency
- .org Non-Profit Organizations
- .mil Military site
- ~ ("tilde") Personal site
What if I cannot find the author? If you can't find an author's name on the web page, check some of the other pages to see if you can find one. If you are unable to find an author, do you really want to use this information?
What is biased information? Biased information gives one point of view or perspective. Unbiased information is either neutral or provides multiple view points.
Information you find in articles from the databases are more reliable than information from Web sites because they have gone through some kind of review process. These articles are referred to as scholarly, academic or peer review. Click this link if you are unsure what is the difference between scholarly and non-scholarly journals.
Information about Films
All-Movie Guide
Film listings include general information, cast and crew, synopses, reviews.
IMDB (Internet Movie Database)
Provides access to information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games.
Festivals
Professional Associations
American Film Marketing Association
Trade group representing independent production companies and producers. Good data source. Some of it requires membership.
Association of Independent Commercial Producers
Trade group representing producers who make commercials, corporate and educational films.
International Documentary Association
The only organization in the US that focuses on documentaries.
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
This is the major organization for American film, home video and television producers. Includes industry news & issues, statistics, ratings information, and more.
Society for Cinema and Media Studies
professional organization of college and university educators, filmmakers, historians, critics, scholars, and others devoted to the study of the moving image
Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers
Leading technical society for the motion imaging industry. Covers advance theory and development in the motion imaging field.