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Before the Internet came into being, everything was published on paper. In order to get your ideas into print and reach a mass audience you either had to pay a lot of money to have this done, or else convince publishers to pay for it. Nowadays all it takes is a little know-how, and you can publish your own ideas on the Internet for practically nothing.

While this is good news for people who aren't rich or well-connected, it also means that much of what is published online has not been scrutinized by any authority or professional peer group. Now, more than ever, it's buyer beware for what you read on the Internet, especially when searching for news and health-related information.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when evaluating the quality of information at a given website:

• Is the website an authoritative source? For example, an authoritative news site would be that of a major newspaper or TV news company. An authoritative health site would be that of a credentialed and well-respected medical institution or individual. Often you will recognize the name as an authoritative source.
  

• What is the suffix of the web address? In general if the web address ends in .edu, .gov or .org it is a legitimate source. The suffix .edu typically indicates a university or other educational website; .gov is a government website; .org signifies a professional organization or association. This does not mean that .com websites are not to be trusted. Indeed, many sources are registered as both .com and .org, which have identical content. For example, mayoclinic.com gives you the same content as mayoclinic.org. If you do end up at a .com site, you will have to do a little more digging to make sure it's legitimate.
  

• The fact that a website is authoritative does not necessarily mean that it is unbiased. Is the bias clear? Are there other biases you might want to consider?
  

• Who is the author of the article or website? What are his or her credentials? If no author is mentioned, then you can find out who owns the website by going to Whois.net or Allwhois.com. Is the author affiliated with any professional organization or educational institution? Does the author list a postal address and phone number?
  

• How current is the article or website? Does it have a date of publication or copyright?
  

• Is the article peer reviewed? This is very important for an article of a scholarly nature; not relevant for an editorial column.
  

• Are there links to related sources? For example, if a writer mentions specific research to back up a claim, is there a link to this research? And is the linked site an authoritative source?

In any case, it is always a good idea to verify information by checking with additional sources.

If you have doubts about the validity of information that someone has passed on to you - for example, you get an email warning you to remove a file from your computer because it contains a virus - check first at Snopes.com to see if the issue has been documented as a hoax or as an "urban legend."

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