To develop your skills in evaluating and identifying authoritative resources in the Internet, try one of these online tutorials:

For doing general research on the Internet:

• Internet Detective


• Learn the Net

For researching religious studies on the Internet:

• Internet for Religious Studies Tutorial
  

Care must be taken in searching for information on the Internet. Unlike both the print resources found in the library and the electronic databases provided by the library, freely available Internet resources have not necessarily been published by reputable academic publishers nor have they been selected by librarians with expertise in their subject area. Nearly anything can be posted on a website, and just because it is available online does not mean it is valid or authoritative.

However, this does not mean that you cannot find good resources on the Internet; the key to doing so is to carefully evaluate what you find on the web. If you use web resources, be sure to ask these questions:

• Who is the author of the Web site? Are the author's credentials listed?
• What institution or organization is behind the Web site?
• When was the Web site created or last updated?
• Who is the intended audience for the Web site?
• Is the information provided objective or biased?
• How does information provided by the site compare to other works, including print works?

The following are some recommended web sites that may be of interest to students and researchers in the area of ethics: