Why do I need to evaluate web sites?
Anyone can create a web page. Anyone can publish information online. When you use a book or another traditional library resource, a librarian has gone through an evaluation process for you. When YOU find a resource online, you must evaluate it before you use it to make sure that it meets the same standards that you would expect for a book, article, or other information resource.
How do I start?
Remember the 5 W's from your high school newspaper days? You can use them here to investigate a web site that you find online. Here's how:
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Consider:
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Confirm:
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W
H
O
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» Credentials...
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Who is the AUTHOR?
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Is the page signed?
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Does the page include a biography?
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What makes the author an expert on this topic?
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What is the author's education and/or experience?
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Was the author recommended from a source that you can trust?
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» Contact...
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Can you contact the author to find out more about him/her/the topic?
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Does the page include an e-mail address, mailing address and/or phone number?
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» Identity...
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Who is behind the information?
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Is the author a person?
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Is this information being sponsored or sold?
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» Level...
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Who is the AUDIENCE?
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Who is the site written for?
Professional? ... or Pre-K?
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W
H
A
T
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» Accuracy...
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What KIND of information?
Everyone has a point of view, but is someone's opinion, hidden agenda or bias getting in the way of the truth?
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Get the facts:
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Verify all information that you find!
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Look for a bibliography or footnotes
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Check for information about the author and/or sponsoring organization
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Confirm questionable information in a trusted resource (when in doubt - ask a librarian!)
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W
H
E
N
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» Currency...
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When was the site created?
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Look for:
Copyright Date, Creation Date, Updates, Revision
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Does the information expire?
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Is your topic current (changing all of the time) or historical?
Even outlooks on historical events can change!
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W
H
E
R
E
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» Location
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Where is the site located?
Is this information being used to sell a product or an idea? Sometimes the best way to tell is to check who is hosting the content...
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Analyze the address:
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Dissect the URL = Uniform Resource Locator
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Identify the domain
Truncate back to the domain to find more answers:
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.com - commercial
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.edu - higher education
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.k12 - k-12 education
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.gov - government
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.mil - military
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.net - network
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.org - organization (commercial or educational)
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Look for personal page clues:
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~
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"users"
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"people"
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"pubweb"
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"members"
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» References...
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Where does the site link TO?
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Investigate what links are recommended:
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Visit a "links" or "resources" page
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Follow links within the content
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Where does the site link FROM? Who is recommending this website?
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Use a search engine to do a "Link Analysis":
Type ":link" and the URL of the web site in the search box of a search engine
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W
H
Y
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» Relevance and Coverage...
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Why should you use this site?
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Improves or expands upon information in print and/or subscription databases
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Answers your research questions
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» Purpose...
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Why did the author choose to publish this information online?
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To advocate ideas or to persuade
(ex. Greenpeace)
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To advertise or sell
(ex. Ebay)
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To inform or educate
(ex. National Geographic)
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To entertain
(ex. Comedy Central)
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H
O
W
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» Appearance
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How does the website look?
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Accessibility
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Organization
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Grammar and Spelling
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Advertisements
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Dead links
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Use your W's: Take a look:
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