EVALUATING A WEB SITE
The Internet has no editors.
Anyone can put anything they like on the Internet. Just because it is on the Internet does not make it true or useful.
There are many jokes and pranks on the Internet.
Check this out! See if you can evaluate this website....... http://www.wiredsafety.org/wiredlearning/Evaluation/notetaking/sites/albert_einstein.htm
It is essential to evaluate a Web Site before you use it for a project.
Step One: Check the Content of the Web Page
When looking at a Web Page, ask yourself:
Does the Page appear to be accurate?
What is the purpose of the Page? Is it to inform, persuade, sell, explain?
Does it appear to make sense?
Does the Page agree with other information I have found?Does the information appear to be fact or opinion?
Does the content of the Page seem to be biased or stereotyped?
Step Two: Analyze the URL (Address)
A Web Page address is called a URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
Each part of the URL has a special meaning.
URLs have important information about the origin of a Web Page. The domain name, .three letters, describes the sponsoring organization of the Page.
Important ones are:
.com means commercial (business). It is designed to make money. Look at the URL of the Dell Computer Corporation. http://www.dell.com/ .
.edu means educational (college or university). The URL of the University at Albany Library is http://www.albany.edu/library/index.html .
.k12 means a school. Look at the URL of the Cobleskill-Richmondville Central Schools http://www.crcs.k12.ny.us/ .
.org means non-profit. The URL of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is http://www.pbs.org/ ..gov means government. Look at the URL of the United States Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/ .
.net means an Internet Service Provider. http://www.klink.net/ provides Internet service in Montgomery and Fulton Counties.
~ Name is a personal Web Page. http://www.infinet.com/~lstevens/burt/Civil%20War is Larry Stevens' Web Page of the Civil War letters of Captain Richard W. Burt of Ohio. Be careful using personal pages. Since they are personal, no guarantee of their accuracy.There are also 244 domain names for foreign countries.
Some examples:.uk stands for United Kingdom (Britain). The British Museum in London has the URL http://www.british-museum.ac.uk/index.html .
.jp means Japan. The URL of the University of Toyko is http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ .
.fr stands for France. The URL of the Universite de Paris is http://www.univ-paris1.fr/UFR06/index1.htm .
Step Three: Check the Background of the Author/ Sponsor
What is the author's name?
What is his or her background and credentials? Does he or she appear to be qualified to write about the topic of the Page?
Author' s name and background is either on the bottom or top of the Page.
What organization is sponsoring the Page? Information about the sponsor of the Page is often also at the bottom of the Page. Always check the bottom of the Page. It usually has important information.
If no author information is given, and the page does not have a reliable sponsor, think twice about using the site for your project.
Step Four: Is the Site Current?
Material on the Internet gets out of date very quickly.
It is very important to check the date the site was published or last updated.
Information about the date of publication and updating is on the bottom of the Page.
Check if the information on the Page seems to be current.
Check if the links to other sites work.
Step Five: Is the Site Useful for My Project?
When looking at a Web Site, ask yourself:
Will the information help my project?
What does it offer that cannot be found elsewhere?
Is it as good or better than other sources of information on the project?
Don't forget--you are trying to find the BEST material for your project.
Step Six: Web Site Evaluation Form
The following form is very useful for evaluating a Web Site:
Name of Web Site:
Address of Web Site:
Does the Page appear to be accurate and unbiased?
What is the background of the author?
What organization sponsored the Page?
When was the Page updated last?
How useful is this Page for my project?
Sources
Anderson, Mary Alice. "Site Evaluation." http://wms.luminet.net/staffdev/handouts/Beyond_Surfing.html . Last updated July 1998. Accessed 7/26/99.
Beck, Susan. "Evaluation Criteria." The Good, the Bad & the Ugly; or, Why It's a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Sources. 1997. http://lib.nmsu.edu/staff/susabeck/evalcrit.html . Accessed 7/26/99.
"Domain Names." http://www.learnthenet.com/english/html/84domain.htm . Last updated 5/17/99. Accessed 7/28/99.
"Evaluating Internet Resources: A Checklist." http://www.infopeople.org.bkmk/select.html . Adapted from Wilkinson, Gene, Bennett, Lisa, and Oliver, Kevin. "Consolidated Listing of Evaluation Criteria and Quality Indicators.http://itech1.coe.uga.edu/Faculty/GWilkinson/criteria.html. 1997. Accessed 7/30/99.
"Evaluation Criteria Rating System for Web Sites." http://www.ala.org/ICONN/rating.html . Last updated 4/26/99. Accessed 4/27/99. This site is no longer available. Similar information can be found at http://www.ala.org/ICONN/evaluate.html .
Genco, Peter. "Analyzing an Internet Address." in Valenza, Joyce Kasman. Power Tools: 100+ Essential Forms and Presentations for Your School Library Information Program . Chicago: American Library Association. 1998.
Howe, Walt. "Evaluating Quality." http://www0.delphi.com/navnet/quality.html . Last revised September 2, 1998. Accessed 7/29/99.
Schrock, Kathy. "Separating the Wheat from the Chaff: How to Tell Good Sites From the Bad." Internet Trend Watch for Libraries. March 1998. Online version. http://discoveryschool.com/schrockguide/chaff.html . Accessed 7/29/99.
________. "Teaching Media Literacy in the Age of the Internet." Classroom Connect. December 1998/January 1999. Online version. http://www.classroom.com/resource/articles/weval.pdf . Accessed 7/26/99.This page was created by Joanne Parnes Shawhan, Ph D., library media specialist, Cobleskill-Richmondville High School, Warnerville, NY 12187. shawhanj@crcs.k12.ny.us . Copyright 1999. No changes may be made to this document without the author's written consent. Reproduction/distribution without the author's consent is permitted for educational purposes.