Mrs. Hopper's Website Evaluation Guide
8th Grade U.S. History
Spinning Globe

In the next few weeks you will all be asked to research topics in U.S. History for class assignments. But, as we all know, there are sites out there that contain incorrect information. How can you make sure that the website you are using is legit?

Your teacher has created an evaluation system to help you judge the sites you may visit. The system is illustrated below. The goal of
this system is to teach you how to judge websites you visit. Eventually, you should be able to decide on your own whether a website
is a suitable source for research. But for now, follow the system below while searching the web for resources.

Terms to know before you start:
URL: The web address. Look in the explorer bar above. The web address for this page is
www2.mcdaniel.edu/slm/student/hoppers/webev.html. That is the URL.
Domain: If the URL is www2.mcdaniel.edu, the domain is .edu. This refers to the type of web page it is.

Website Evaluation System
Criteria
 Where to Find the Answer
 Importance
 Points Possible
 Points
What is the domain for the site?
*Check with your teacher if you think your site is worth 4 points. 		Look in the URL. The domain is the last three letters. Some .com sites are
personal sites and they could be biased or incorrect. 		Domain is .edu: 4 points
Domain is .org: 3 points
Domain is .com: 1 point
Is there a copyright or "date created" on the page?
 
 Look at the very bottom of the page or on the website's index page.  This is important when citing the page. No Information: 0 Points
Dated Information: 3 Points
How current is the website?
*This does not always apply to some history sites. Ask your teacher if you are unsure.
The page should have information on the last update. If not, look at the copyright date. It is important to have current information, especially when using websites.
 No Date: 0 Points
Within last 2 years: 3 Points
Within last 4 years: 2 Points
Within last 5 years: 1 Point
What do you know about the page's creator? Look at the bottom or throughout the page for information.
*Ask your teacher if you have any
questions. 		How much does the author know about the subject? This is important! 
No Information: 0
Student: 1 Point
Teacher: 2 Points
Professionally Created: 3 Pts.
Is there information on how to reach the author or webmaster?
 Look at the bottom of the page or on the index page.
Is the author willing to be reached for verification?
No Information: 0 Points
Contact Info:  3 Point
Does the site's formatting make sense?
Look at the page's layout, does it all flow together or does it have breaks?
Better pages will have better formatting.
 Proper Formatting: 1 Point
Incorrent Formatting: 0 Points
Does the author cite resources for the information shown on the site? Look at the bottom for a list of 
resources or a link to the resources.
Just like your research papers, sites should have references to back up their statements!
 No Resources: 0 Points
1-3 Resources: 3 Points
4+ Resources: 4 Points
Does the author give links to related websites? *If, for example, the site only lists three websites as resources, these websites can not count as related sites as well.
 Look at the bottom or the index page, for a link to related sites. This could also be included with resources.  How much research has the author done on the web? How many other sites is the author aware of?
 Related Links: 3 Points
Are the links for sources and/or related sites current?
 Check up to three of the links on the page.
 This tells you how detail-
oriented the author is.		 Current links: 1 Point
Some broken links: 0  Pts.
Is this site comparable to sources you would use from the library or your textbook? Judge this answer for yourself.
*If you think it is better, you should have a reason why it's better!
 In your research, you should find and use the most valuable resources you can.
 The same:  1 Points
In between: 2 Points
Better: 3 Points
Not as good: 0 Points
Is the information on the website fact, or opinion?
*Remember, not all opinions are wrong as long as they give a reason for their opinion!
Judge this answer for yourself as you read through the site.

 Before you use anything as a source, you should separate the facts from opinions.

Correct Facts: 2 Points
Some incorrect facts: 0 Points
Opinion with Reasoning: 2 Pts.
Opinion without Reasons: 0 Pts.
Total


After Evaluating
Add the point total. There are 30 possible points.
Green Light Site  26-30
You may use this site as a reference without teacher approval.
Yellow Light Site 22-25
You will need teacher approval before using this site as a reference.
Red Light Site 23-0
You really should not use this site in your research.

Mrs. Hopper's Tip: This evaluation system is not always set in stone! There can be exceptions to some of the criterion. If you are unsure about certain aspects of a website, ask your teacher!


Website Evaluation in Use
Your teacher has found two websites on Jim Crow Laws to compare using the evaluation system. Take a look at her evaluation of the websites below:

First Website: "Who Was Jim Crow?" - http://www.ferris.edu/news/jimcrow/who.htm (10/22/05)

Mrs. Hopper's Evaluation:
Domain: .edu
 4/4  Points
Copyright? Yes
 3/3 Points
How current? 5 years ago
 1/3 Points
Creator: Professor
 3/3 Points
Contact Information? Yes
 3/3 Points
Formatting? Correct
 1/1 Point
Resources Cited? Yes
 4/4 Points
Links to related sites? Yes
3/3 Points
Links current? Yes
 1/1 Point
Comparable to other resources? Yes
 2/3 Points
Fact or Opinion? Fact with references
 2/2 Points
Total Points
 27/30

Because this page received 27/30 points, it is a green light site. It does not need teacher approval to be used as a source.

Second Website: Jim Crow Laws - http://www.davison.k12.mi.us/dms/CivilRightsWebPage/rmb.htm (10/22/05)
Mrs. Hopper's Evaluation:
Domain: .edu
 4/4 Points
Copyright? Created date
 3/3 Points
How current? 3 years ago
2/3 Points
Creator: Student
 1/3 Points
Contact Information? No
 0/3 Points
Formatting? Some gaps
 0/1 Points
Resources Cited? 3 sources
 3/4 Points
Links to related Sites? No
 0/3 Points
Links Current? 1out of 2 links are broken
 0/1 Point
Comparable to other sources? No
 0/3 Points
Fact or Opinion? Mostly fact, but some
of the statements are questionable.
 1/2 Points
Total
 14/30

Because this site received 14 out of 30 points, it is a red light site. This means that it is not a good site to use in your research. However, that does not mean that the information in this site is totally false, or that this is a bad site-- it simply does not meet the standards for serving as a source in your research.



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This site was created to complete Elective 3 - Evaluating Websites for SLM 521.