Web Site Evaluation

WHO Who wrote the pages and are they an expert? Is a biography of the author included? How can I find out more about the author? Look for About Us or Contact Us link

WHAT What does the author say is the purpose of the site? What makes the site easy to use? Do links work? Are there headings? Is site easy to navigate? What information is included and does this information differ from other sites?

WHEN When was the site created? When was the site last updated?

WHERE Where does the information come from? Where can I look to find out more about the sponsor of the site? Contact Us or About Us links

WHY Why is this information useful for my purpose? Why should I use this information? Why is this page better than another? http://kathyschrock.net/abceval/5Ws.htm

URL/Web Address Government agency .gov Internet Service provider .net Commercial site .com Higher education .edu Military site .mil Organization .org Personal site ~

What can you do? It helps to be somewhat familiar with your topic before researching it. Check facts with other sources to see if the information matches Think about the 5 w’s

Books Use current library books-They are always a trusted source of information How does a book get into our library? First an author has an idea for a book . The author may write and revise several times before deciding to submit to a publisher Many books are rejected by the publisher or need further work before they publisher will accept them Next, an editor gets involved and works with the author to check facts and revise the work, making sure things are accurate and well written. Not every book makes it all the way through this process, so some books won’t actually get all the way to publication Many different people checked these books before they got into our library: the author did research, the publisher and editor checked the information and made sure it was written well, the reviewer checked some facts again to be sure it was a good book, the librarian selected only the best and most accurate books. At every level, poorly prepared materials are weeded out. You can trust every book in our library to have good, useful information.

Internet 1.2.3 3. Search Engine www.google.com 1. Use the library subscription databases World Book Online SIRS Discoverer 2. Use subject directories on the Internet http://www.kidsclick.org/ http://www.ipl.org/ 3. Search Engine www.google.com

Sites to explore Hoax Sites http://allaboutexplorers.com/ http://www.sudftw.com/jackcon.htm http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/ Valid Sites Mariner’s Museum http://ageofex.marinersmuseum.org/index.php Enchanted Learning http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/ Power Point created by: Abbey Kwietniak