Unfortunately, nearly all Web-based information resources exist in a near state of anarchy and most of the the above information must be gleaned from what is displayed. Few page creators include even minimal information to resolve the authority of authors. Nonetheless, issues of authority and authenticity in evaluating resources remains important and should be extracted from available information or verified externally. A more detailed evaluation of the quality of a resource can be determined by posing several questions of the content of a work. Some of the questions relate to the authority of the work.
Works can present facts, opinion, propoganda, or all three in varying degrees.
Critical or evaluative reviews of many reference resources, including CD-ROM and online databases, are published in Choice, Library Journal, American Reference Books Annual, and many scholarly journals. These questions build upon those found in part one above. In many edited works, it is difficult to determine the authorship of particular articles or entries. Citations can assist a user in locating further information. While largely the responsiblity of the publisher, poor editing can make the content inaccurate or subject to misinterpretation.