EVALUATING WEBSITES
So, you have just entered your search and the engine has come back with hundreds of websites for you to take a look at. Now you have to decide which site has the right information for your report. The problem is, how do you determine if the website you’re checking out is going to give you the reliable facts and figures you need for your report. Provided below is a simple checklist to help you distinguish between the bad sites and the good ones. All you have to do is read over the checklist and place a checkmark in the plus (+) column if the website meets this criteria and a checkmark in the minus (-) column is it doesn’t. The more checkmarks you have in the (+) column, the more reliable the site should be. Although, you have to pay particular attention to the possible bias which may be supported by the site’s sponsor and/or author to make sure you’re getting all the facts.
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Evaluation Checklist |
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RELIABILITY OF SITE INFORMATION |
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a.
Is the site sponsored by an internationally or nationally recognized
organization? |
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b.
Does the site provide contact info for the sponsor (email, address, or fax)? |
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c.
Are the authors of the site considered experts in their field? Are their qualifications listed? |
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d.
Does this site have an “About Us” link clearly stating their purpose? |
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ACCURACY OF SITE INFORMATION |
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a.
How well does the information available on the site compare to other media
(books, encyclopedias, journals)? |
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b.
Does the site provide information that is relevant to the site’s stated
purpose and/or mission? |
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SOURCES OF DOCUMENTATION |
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a.
Does the site clearly document the information that it lists on the site, i.e.
where the facts came from? |
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b.
Does the site provide “works cited” links in which you can check where they
obtained their info? |
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c.
Do the facts they provide support the site’s stated purpose and/or
message/opinion? |
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d.
How extensively does the site cover its chosen topic and/or subject? How many sources have they consulted? |
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e.
Does the site provide contact info for the sources it has cited and/or used? |
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CURRENCY OF INFORMATION |
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a.
Is this site updated on a regular and frequent basis? |
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b.
Is the information provided on the site “up to date,” current, and correct? |
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c.
Does this site provide a way in which you can determine when it was last
updated? |
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BIAS OF THE SITE SPONSOR AND/OR AUTHOR |
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a.
Is this site designed around a specific agenda and/or political position? |
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b.
Is the site’s “tone of language” persuasive in any way? |
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c.
Does the site urge you to buy, do, or take something? |
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d.
Does the site only present one side of an issue or is it very narrow in
focus? |
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EASE OF NAVIGATION |
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a.
Is the site “laid out” in an organized manner? |
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b.
Is the site’s information presented in an easy to follow manner with a clear
focus? |
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c.
Are the site’s headings and/or links easy to find? Does the site have a main
menu? |
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d.
Do all of the site’s links work? |
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Listed below are two websites that have been evaluated using the above criteria. The first site is an example of a site that is unreliable and the second is an example of one that is reliable.
Site #1: “Too Stupid to be President”
This site is organized around the very biased opinion that President George W. Bush is an “illegally” elected official who can do nothing right and who has led America on a path to utter ruin. This site’s author only identifies himself by a nickname and there is no way to contact him/her. The author states many things that he/she believes the President has done wrong such as the “Top Ten Reasons Bush Attacked Iraq,” which are not based on any sort of documented fact. The web page is filled with several smaller menus and links that are crowded together and are hard to sort out. There appears to be a haphazard organization of the site as well. It is not connected to any well-known reputable organization and therefore anything taken from this site may be considered highly unreliable. The site also encourages you to buy many anti-Bush products as well.
http://www.toostupidtobepresident.com
Site #2: “CNN”
This is the official site of the world-recognized news group of the Cable News Network. It is highly reliable and thoroughly documents all of its sources. It is very current with updates by the minute. All of their writers are listed and their qualifications can be easily obtained. The site is very easy to navigate and its links almost always work. Being a news site, it is usually open to presenting all sides of an issue.