ETT 429 Spring 2007 Web Evaluation

World Wide Web  Terminology Internet Internet Web pages Web pages Browsers Browsers Search Engines Search Engines

Search Engines  Search Engine – automated index of web sites based on various ranking criteria  Computer programs written to “search web” – spiders, crawlers  Examples See Search Tools link See Search Tools link  Meta Searches Search engine that only searches other search engines and displays results Search engine that only searches other search engines and displays results Example - Metacrawler Example - MetacrawlerMetacrawler

Search Engine criteria  Major criteria URL URL Title of page Title of page Meta tags Meta tags Text within page Text within page  Each search engine ranks differently

Directories  Hierarchical ordering of topics created either by program or people  Ordered by topic, search ranking, genre, etc.  Some run by people (“Ask Jeeves”)  Example

Portals  Websites used by browsers as starting point for locating information. Examples Examples Yahoo!Yahoo! ExciteExcite AOL main pageAOL main page MSN main pageMSN main page  Typically offer own directory, search engine, and ability to tailor info to user’s needs

Web Resource Evaluation

Web Evaluation Checklist C REDIBILITY / AUTHORITY A CCURACY R ELIABILITY R ELEVANCE D ATE S OURCES BEHIND THE TEXT S COPE AND PURPOSE

CRITICAL EVALUATION Why Evaluate What You Find on the Web?  Anyone can put up a Web page about anything about anything for pennies for pennies in minutes in minutes

 Many pages not kept up-to-date  No quality control most sites not “peer-reviewed” most sites not “peer-reviewed” less trustworthy than scholarly publicationsless trustworthy than scholarly publications no selection guidelines for search engines no selection guidelines for search engines CRITICAL EVALUATION

Web Evaluation Techniques Before you click to retrieve the page...  Look at the URL: personal page or site ? personal page or site ? ~ or % or users or members domain name appropriate for the content ? domain name appropriate for the content ? edu, com, org, net, gov, ca., us, uk, etc.

Published by an entity that makes sense? Published by an entity that makes sense? News from its source?News from its source? Advice from valid agency?Advice from valid agency? Web Evaluation Techniques

Scan the perimeter of the page  Can you tell who wrote it ? name of page authorname of page author organization, institution, agency you recognizeorganization, institution, agency you recognize contact by itself not enough contact by itself not enough  Credentials for the subject matter ? Look for links to: Look for links to: “ About us” “Philosophy” “Background” “Biography”

 Is it recent or current enough ? Look for “last updated” date - usually at bottomLook for “last updated” date - usually at bottom Do not trust a current date in :Do not trust a current date in : View | Page Info (Netscape) OR File | Properties (IE)  If no links or other clues... truncate back the URLtruncate back the URL inkquest/gail/text/ethics.html inkquest/gail/text/ethics.html Scan the perimeter of the page

Indicators of quality  Sources documented links, footnotes, etc.links, footnotes, etc. As detailed expected in print publications ? As detailed expected in print publications ? do the links work ?do the links work ?  Information not retyped or forged why not link to published version instead ?why not link to published version instead ?  Links to other resources biased, slanted ? biased, slanted ?

What Do Others Say?  Do a link: search How many links ? How many links ? What kinds of sites ? What kinds of sites ? What do they say ? What do they say ? Who links to ? link:peacenow.org 1.Copy the URL of a page (Ctrl+C) 2.Go to a search engine 3.Type link: and paste in the URL (Ctrl+V) 4.No spaces before or after the :

 Did a reputable source refer you ? is the page in the Librarian’s Index to the Internet, Infomine? is the page in the Librarian’s Index to the Internet, Infomine?Librarian’s Index to the InternetInfomineLibrarian’s Index to the InternetInfomine  Look up the page author in Google What Do Others Say?

STEP BACK & ASK: Does it all add up ?  Why was the page put on the Web ? inform with facts and data?inform with facts and data? explain, persuade?explain, persuade? sell, entice?sell, entice? share, disclose?share, disclose? as a parody or satire?as a parody or satire?  Is it appropriate for your purpose?