Evaluating Websites

Created by Erik Heinemann (11/2/2005)

The purpose of this website is to provide students a quick printable page for that can be used to evaluate URLs before and during their use in research projects/papers.

There are several questions one needs to ask when using websites for research. Copy and paste the following table into Word or some other word processing software and print for your use.

Website Evaluation Questions to Ask:
Write the URL:
1. Is the URL a personal page? □ “user” □ ~(name) □ “members” □ not a personal page □ “people” □ no indication	2. What is the Domain? □ .com □ .org □ .net □ .gov/.mil/.us □ .edu □ other country □ other _____________
Who is the Author:
1. Who is responsible for the information? □ person □ there is no □ institution indication □ organization □ cannot find □ agency	2. What is the purpose? □ to sell something □ a rant □ to persuade □ to instruct □ to inform □ not obvious □ to educate
3. What are the credentials? Check all that apply. □ a link to the company is provided □ related links are present □ “Who am I” link is provided □ “About us” link provided □ background was provided □ no credentials can be found	4. Is the information current enough? Find the publication date and see if it fits the purpose of your project. □ is it published around the time of the research subject and useful □ is it current and useful □ no date can be found
Is the work authentic:
1. Evaluate the quality □ sources are provided or linked □ the links are reliable □ the links are active and still work	2. Are there links to related topics □ no □ yes □ The links are reliable □ The links are questionable
What are the opinions of other readers:
1. Type “link:” into Google or one of the other search engines and then paste the URL and hit go. See who else links to and uses the site. □ URLs that link can be found □ the URLs are reputable □ the URLs are unknown and anonymous □ URL links cannot be found	2. What do the others say about the source you are investigating?
Does it all coordinate:
1. What is the tone of the information? □ it is sarcastic □ it is formal □ it is informal □ it is outrageous □ it humorous	2. Does the URL, author, content, tone, other opinions on the page all make sense together or is something out of place?
3. Is this a good source that I could find in a reputable data base or Library if I looked for it?

Summary: Can this site be believed and used for your purposes?

To see examples of a good website and bad website see my example page.

Related sources:

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Why is it Important to Evaluate Websites? http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/eval.html

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