English Research Guide

One of the biggest problems that students have with using websites in their research is that they are not sure that the content that they find is accurate. Here are some basic ways to evaluate a website:

• What does the domain name tell you? Is the site a .com, .edu, or .gov?
• Is there clear authorship on the site? Does the author state their credentials?
• Is there an "About" page?
• Is there contact information or references or citations listed?

These are guidelines from credible institutions to help you evaluate a website and its content:

1. Cornell Univeristy Library: Evaluating Websites
2. UC Berkeley Library: Evaluating Web Pages
3. Johns Hopkins Libraries: Evaluating Information Online

This is just a brief representation of the digital collections available on the web.  If you locate a project not listed here that you think will be useful for Cal Poly Humboldt students, please email the Research Help Desk know so that it can be included on the list.

• Geoffrey Chaucer - The site includes critical articles, translations and glossed versions of sources that are relevant to Chaucer, and graphics and general information about the Middle Ages.
• Shakespeare's Sonnets - All the sonnets are provided here, with descriptive commentary attached to each one, giving explanations of difficult and unfamiliar words and phrases, and with a full analysis of any special problems of interpretation which arise. Sonnets by other Elizabethan poets are also included.