Evaluating the Web Site Information

Web Evaluation Exercise
Critical Evaluation Survey : Secondary School Level (PDF) (Word)
The number and variety of resources on the Internet is phenomenal. Companies, organizations, educational institutions and individual people add information daily. However, not everything available on the Internet is acceptable to use for academic research projects.

		Be able to identify the criteria for evaluating a source
		Select and evaluate a web source

Did you know that?

• Almost anyone can and does publish anything on the World Wide Web.
• Web sources often are not verified by editors or fact checkers as is done before print publication.
• Web standards of quality are not fully developed.

Before you use a Web site for a research project, make sure that it passes your evaluation according to the following criteria: Authority, Purpose, Currency, Accuracy, and Ease of Use.

Pick any two sites from the list below. What evidence can you find to determine the basis for claims made on these pages? How could you tell whether or not the information provided is accurate?:
 
  - Dihydrogen Monoxide Research
  - Dihydrogen Monoxide in the Dairy Industry (http://www.dhmo.org/milk.html)
  - Feline Reactions to Bearded Men (http://www.improb.com/airchives/classical/cat/cat.html)
  - Mankato, Minnesota Home Page (http://city-mankato.us/)
  - Medline PLUS (http://www.medlineplus.gov/)
  - The True but Little Known Facts about Women and Aids, with Documentation (http://147.129.226.1/library/research/AIDSFACTS.htm)
  - Save the Endangered Species 
  - Ladies Against Women (http://www.well.com/user/gail/ladies/)
  - Families Against Internet Censorship (http://www.netfamilies.org/)
  - EarthSave International (http://www.earthsave.org/)
    - Sports Rumble (http://www.sportsrumble.com/)
  - CNN (http://www.cnn.com)
  - Mr. Cranky Rates the Movies (http://www.mrcranky.com)
  - Auto-by-Tel (http://www.autobytel.com/)

Authority:  Who's the Author?     Who's the Publisher?

• Who is the author of the Web site (a person, an organization, or a company)?
• Is the author an expert on the topic? To what extent does the author's occupation, years of experience, position, or education make him/her an expert?
• What do you know about the provider or sponsor (e.g. company, professional association) of the Web site? Is this information easy to find on the Web site?

Examples

Purpose  -   Indicators of Bias

• Does the Web site sell, inform, or try to persuade you of a certain point of view?
• Is it a commercial, governmental, or educational institution Web site? Look at the URL or Web site address for .com (commercial), .gov (governmental), .edu (educational), .org (organization).

Examples

Currency  -  When was it Published?

• Is the date of the last revision to the Web site indicated?
• Are you able to find the exact date of the content you plan to use?
• Are the links to other sites up-to-date?

Examples

Accuracy  - Check the Accuracy

• Is the information based on facts or opinions?
• Does the author provide any supportive evidence for his/her statements?
• Are the sources listed for any information presented as fact so that they can be looked for to verify the facts?

Examples

Ease of Use  -  Design of Web Pages

• Is the Web site well organized? Can you easily find what you're looking for?
• Does the site provide a way to search all the pages for a particular topic?
• Does the site offer anything unique?
• Are the graphics clear and helpful?

Examples

This page was created and posted with permission from College of Dupage's Diana Fitzwater, Librarian
fitzwate@cdnet.cod.edu Updated on 10/3/05
 

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