Web Site Evaluation for Everyone
Save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus!
1. Why is it important to evaluate web sites?
2. Evaluating - Ask yourself questions about the source of the information.
Does it sound reasonable?
3. Criteria To Evaluate Web Pages:
Powerpoint of Web Evaluation from Los Angeles County Office of Education
Evaluation Criteria:also Criteria in PDF
Another Chart of Criteria from Cornell University
a) Authority: Who wrote the page? Who is the author? Do they have a bio? What are his or her credentials?
What organization is behind the page? Do they have bios?
Ways to tell who is the Authority.
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Look at the URL address and the domain name
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How to read a URL.
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About Us or Mission statement?
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Links of other organization?
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Links of Author information?
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Author? Look up author's name in google. Does author exist? Verify credentials.
b) Accuracy :Can you tell if the information is error free? Typos? Spelling? Does it match information you have found elsewhere?
c) Currency:How to up to date is the information on the page? Does it have a date on it? Recent updates? Do the links work?
d) Coverage:What subjects are covered? Does it answer your question? How in depth is the coverage? External links? Are they real? Bibliography? How valuable is the information on the page?
e) Objectivity: Who sponsors the page? Are thy trying to persuade you to a point of view? Is this a personal opinion? Is there advertising on the page? Bias in the writing? Where did the author get his/her information? Scholarly? Hearsay?
Why was this page written?
4. More Questions to Ask:
Do other Pages link to the Page?
Look up web site ranking in Alexa (http://alexa.com/)
Check out who is linking to a web site in Google's advanced search under Page specific search - link Use link: than web address in google search
Reviews? Check if it is listed in evaluated reviewed site such as Librarians Internet Index .0r other Evaluated Web Sites.
Reasonable? Does it sound reasonable?
Facts? Do all the facts match up?
Print? Is this source just as good as a print source?
Proof? Burden of proof is on the reader.
Skeptical Inquiry - question everything you find. There are sites that fight misinformation on the web. Urban Legends Reference pages attempt to give accurate information about rumors and urban legends on a variety of topics, including war, business, events, toxins, science, military, popular culture. One such site is http://www.snopes2.com, web sites try to find out truth on web gossip. An example is the Fire Rainbow. Ratings of Snopes web pages.
5. Activity:
6. Handouts:
Quick Guide to Web Page Evaluation
Web Page Evaluation Checklist
Web Page Evaluation Bullets
7. Other Web pages on Evaluation:
Evaluating Information An interactive turorial from California Polytechic Library
Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask by UC Berkeley is a great resource for learning more about Web site evaluation.
Web Evaluation: How Do I Know What Is Good on the Web
Evaluating Web Sites from Lesley University with examples
The Good, The Bad , & The Ugly by Susan E. Beck Head, Humanities & Social Sciences Services Department New Mexico State University Library
Evaluating Web Resources by Jan Alexander and Marsha Ann Tate from Wolfgram Memorial Library.
Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites from Information for Today (IfT) which was created in collaboration with Merit Network's Teach for Tomorrow and Eastern Michigan University through a grant with Michigan Virtual University.
Researching - Evaluating Information Workshops in researching skills from Charles Darwin University in Australia.
Western State College of Colorado - Evaluating Information from the Web
