1. Is that site good enough to cite?
Evaluating Websites?
Is that site
good enough to cite?

2. Remember: Anyone can publish anything on the Web
Remember: Anyone can publish anything on the Web! It is your job, as a researcher, to look for quality!
In the old days, we had good old print to rely on. Books and magazines still go through a filtering process for quality. Before they are published, they are double-checked by authors and edited for accuracy by a variety of professionals. This is NOT the case with material on the free Web.

3. Yeah, and how can
we be sure
our teacher will
think
it’s good
enough to cite?
Okay, so how
do we know if
a site is good?

4. Think of 5 W’s and How:
WHO
wHAT
WHEN
WHERE
WHY
HOW

5. Let’s Look at a Web Site
Let’s see if we can find out some information about the 5 questions by looking at the CDC web site

6. WHO?
Who is the author?
Do you know if the person is an expert on the topic?
Is the person biased (one-sided thinking)?
If no author is given, ask yourself why…
IF NO AUTHOR, THEN
Who published this page?
Was the page published by an organization?
Is the organization for-profit or non-profit?
If no publisher is given, ask yourself why…
You discover an author has a Ph.D. Do you need to investigate any further? What if her degree is in physics and the site she wrote is on Shakespeare?
Is everything on Geocities bad? Would your teacher question you citing a source that resided on a free server?

7. Can’t find the publisher?
THEN
Delete characters in the address (truncate)

8. author or publication information?
But what if I can’t
find any
author or publication information?
Very often it is difficult to find information about authorship. That may be a clue in itself. However, if you really want to use a page, do not give up! You may have to dig a little deeper to establish a page’s authority!
THEN

9. Look for Credibility Clues!
Publisher Information
Look for these words/phrases:
About us, Who Am I, FAQs,
Company Information,
Profiles, Our Staff, Home
Click on the picture to go to the siteClues often appear on the top or bottom of a page, or in menu bars and frames. These sections often contain authorship clues!

10. WHAT? Are there spelling and grammatical errors?
Is the information accurate?
Is the information consistent?
Is the information one-sided (biased)?
Spelling and grammatical errors are important clues that a site ought to be avoided as a source. Be on the lookout for information that just doesn’t “feel right.”

11. WHEN? When was this information written?
When was the site last updated?
If researching controversial issues, does it matter how old the material is?
*Be suspicious of undated material.
Can you give examples of when it would be more or less important to have your site be current? Is it important that an author keep a site maintained?

12. WHERE? Where did the author find the information?
Does the author give a list of references or links to
the sources they used to find their information?
What kind of links did the author choose?
Are they scholarly?
Did they cite Wikipedia or a similar source?
Be very suspicious of information that appears out of nowhere. Unless this is a completely original source some documentation ought to be present for you to take the page seriously.

13. WHY? Why was the site created… To inform? To persuade? To entertain?
Check out this site:

14. HOW? How does the page look? Is it material I can read and understand?
Are there errors on the page?
Are there advertisements on the page?

15. What can you learn from a URL?
The end, or suffix, of a domain name can help you judge the validity of the information and the potential bias of a website.
This strategy is only a guideline. People can easily purchase domains that do not reflect their actual purpose.

16. URLs as clues to content
.gov U.S. government site
.org organization
(often non-profit but some have
strong bias and agendas)
.edu school or university
(is it K-12? By a student?
By a scholar?)
.ac educational institution
(like .edu)
.int international institution
.mil U.S. military site
.museum museum
.net networked service
provider
(Internet administrative site)
.com commercial sites
(vary in their credibility)
.name individual Internet user
.store retail business
.biz a business
.pro professional’s site
~= personal site

17. What do their URLs reveal about these sites?
(Take a look at some of these.)

18. Remember, the free Web is not your only choice?
Did you use print sources?
Did you search subscription databases?
Did you check with your teacher and librarian for advice?

19. So, why should we care about all of this?

20. There are bigger questions in life
There are bigger questions in life! You will be using information to make important decisions!
Which car should I buy?
Which doctor should I choose?
Should my child have this surgery?
Should I take this medication?
You want to be able to ensure the information you choose is reliable, credible, current, balanced, relevant, and accurate!

21. Just as you evaluate your sources . . .
Your teacher will evaluate your work based on the quality of the sources you select.
Evaluate carefully. Don’t settle for good enough!
Quality always counts!

22. Don’t know where the information was found
How?
When?
Why?
Who?
What?

23. Where?
How?
When?
Who?
Why?
What?

24. Practice checking for accuracy with this site!
Governor Christie Cancels Halloween
Republic of Cascadia: Bureau of Sasquatch Affairs
These hoax sites work well for making the point about accuracy!

25. Evaluation is important! Learn to be fussy!