| Criteria |
Comments |
| Who is the
blogger? This may be challenge with so many blogs offering
spotty or nonexistent “about” pages. That may be a clue in
itself. |
|
| What sorts of
materials is the blogger reading or citing? |
|
| Does this
blogger have influence? Who and how many people link to the
blog? Who is commenting? Does this blog appear to be part of
a community? The best blogs are likely to be hubs for folks
who share interests with the blogger. |
|
| Is this content
covered in any depth, with any authority? How sophisticated
is the language, the spelling? |
|
| Is this blog
alive? It there a substantial archive? How current are the
posts? |
|
|
At what point in a story’s lifetime did the
post appear? Examining a story’s date may offer clues as to
the reliability of a blog entry. |
|
| Is the site
upfront about its bias? Does it recognize/discuss other
points of view? (For certain information tasks–an essay or
debate or student blog–bias may be very useful. You need to
recognize it. |
|
| If the blogger
is not a traditional “expert,” is this a first-hand view
that would be valuable to your research? Is it a unique
perspective? |
|
|
Tools like
Technorati and Blogpulse can help you assess the
influence of a blog. |
