What makes one site more trustworthy and reliable and others less so.

Databases like Harvard or Sydney University are reliable and creditable sources. Information unlikely to be lacking in authority, credibility, be invalid, or inaccurate and will contain updated information. Using a general search engine such as Google scholar has the same advantages.

Research skills, are essential to reduce large amounts of information to a manageable level, as it is impossible to consult all available resources.

Wikipedia is not considered creditable, as this source can be edited by anyone. Website is only a starting point, providing a good summary and a list of references for more in depth research. Similarly, U Tube provides both written and visual information on almost every topic. This site can be trustworthy, when primary and/or secondary sources are either included or references to them is made.

News websites are generally creditable, some being better than others in details provided, and viewpoints represented. I consider ABC and SBS News for example, to be a better source than the commercial news available on channel 7, 9 and 10. Documentaries will contain more authoritative sources than a brief story in a paper or news coverage, as they are likely to have been thoroughly researched.

Any site should be evaluated using criteria. Is it a known, reliable and suitable site for the information? What are the author’s credentials, purpose and rationale for the site? Is it created to serve a particular viewpoint? How accurate are the facts provided (ABB when quoting trends is a suitable and reliable source). Can the facts be corroborated; a website with data that cannot be confirmed should never be trusted.

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[1] Harvard Guide to Using Sources. Harvard College Writing Program.

http://www.isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k70847&pageid=icb.page346375