How do you determine the value of a website?

The web offers a variety of information – some good, and some not so good. To make sure that you don’t use poor information, view each page as you would an infomercial. Use this checklist to help you evaluate information from the web.
 

Accuracy Is the information accurate? How do you know? Is the content consistent with other sources that you have used? What sources? Is the page well written? Authority Is it easy to identify the author of the site? The author is _____________________________ Is the author an authority in the field? How do you know? What qualifications does the author have? What domain does this site use? Who is sponsoring the website? Is there an affiliation with a noted group? Is there contact information for the author? Is there a bibliography? Where did the author get the information? Coverage Is the information comprehensive? What kind of depth and/or breadth does the site offer? Do the links lead to quality resources that are consistent with the theme? Currency When was the page created? When was the page last updated? Are the links working and up-to-date? Objectivity Is the information biased? What is the bias? Is there advertising on the page? What kinds of advertising? Was the page designed to sell an idea or product? Are the author’s opinions expressed on the page? What is the purpose of this page?

Learn about URLs Domains .com = commercial .edu = educational .gov = US government .mil = US military .net = network .org = organization Newer Domains .aero = air transport .biz = business .coop = copperative .info = unrestricted .int = international .museum = museum .name = personal .pro = professional Country Codes These have two digits United States = US lib.nh.us = NH library k12.nh.us = NH School system Other country codes Tilde ~ is a tilde ~ = personal page found within a URL

Want more information on Website evaluation? Check out these links:

ICYouSee: T is for Thinking

www.ithaca.edu/library/training/think.html

A Guide to Critical Thinking About What You See on the Web

net.Tutor: Evaluation of Web Sites

http://gateway.lib.ohio-state.edu/tutor/les1/index.html

Follow the links in this tutorial to learn more about evaluating sites.

Try out various activites and answer questions to check your understanding.

Updated: January 18, 2005
Generated: January 24, 2003

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