Shawn Lees-Carr

SLM521 Evaluating Websites

TEACHER NOTE: the comparison sites at the end give two websites about the same topic. One is more “legitimate” than the other. The first site is the more credible one while site 2 is the noncredible source.

How Do You Know It’s Not All Lies?

Question Authority!

Anyone can put anything on the internet, and in many situations, there is no one monitoring the accuracy of the content. With print materials and resources, there is often a reputable publisher that employs people to fact check, investigate claims and ensure that the information is correct at the time.

Before diving in and wasting time recording information that may not even be true, take a couple of minutes to investigate the page. The best investigators always ask a lot of questions! Your questions will fall into several categories that could be remembered by the acronym, CARS.

Robert Harris, an educator for many years and writer, has explored the use of technology in language and literature study. He focuses on the critical thinking skills, particularly when conducting research. He posted his method for thinking about the value of websites using the CARS acronym.

Summary of the CARS Checklist for Research Source Evaluation

taken from http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm

Credibility	trustworthy source, author’s credentials, evidence of quality control, known or respected authority, organizational support. Goal: an authoritative source, a source that supplies some good evidence that allows you to trust it.
Accuracy	up to date, factual, detailed, exact, comprehensive, audience and purpose reflect intentions of completeness and accuracy. Goal: a source that is correct today (not yesterday), a source that gives the whole truth.
Reasonableness	fair, balanced, objective, reasoned, no conflict of interest, absence of fallacies or slanted tone. Goal: a source that engages the subject thoughtfully and reasonably, concerned with the truth.
Support	listed sources, contact information, available corroboration, claims supported, documentation supplied. Goal: a source that provides convincing evidence for the claims made, a source you can triangulate (find at least two other sources that support it).

Extensive Rubric can be found at http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/tbarcalow/490NET/EvalRubric.htm.

Step-By-Step

Below is another checklist you can use to help evaluate webpages. This checklist is based on thinking through the website in a linear, step-by-step order.

Critical thinking		Web Site 1	Web Site 2
What search engine did I use?	How does the search engine rank its results? Some search engines may accept a fee to push certain sites to the top of their lists.
What can the address tell me?	Who is publishing the page and what could this mean about the content of the site? An individual person may have his/her name in the address. A company may be providing the information. A reputable organization may be backing the information.
	What is the domain abbreviation and what does this say about the content of the site? Commercial sites: com Educational sites: edu Government sites: gov Organizations: org State abbreviation: _____
What identifying information should I locate on the page?	What is the date, with the year, on the page and how does this impact the quality of information? Old information may not be as valid as new. Maybe no one’s checking up on the page either.
	Who is in charge of the information of the page and what could this mean about the truthfulness of the page? Agency Business Individual Organization Government State agency
	What could be the purpose of the page? To inform To entertain To persuade
	How credible is the information provider? What qualifies him/her/it to be an expert?
How strong is the content of the page?	Does it use language appropriate to the topic? Are there a lot of typos or basic language that shows weak knowledge or just surface understanding? Is the language “loaded” or biased?
	What sources, links, and citations or footnotes are included? Are the resources clearly marked and accessible? Do they seem reputable and credible? Are other opinions or sides included to give you both sides?
	Who else links to the page? Check by typing the address in alexa.com. Click on “overview.” Also you can “google” it by typing “link:” in the address bar. Paste in the URL right after the colon. Considering who links to the page is like considering recommendations. Do reputable groups also value this page or is the page only connected to different parts of its own site?
Considering all the variables above, how valuable will this webpage be for meeting my purpose?

PRATICE and AMUSEMENT:

Try evaluating the following websites, which were found at the South Fayette School District page of http://www.southfayette.org/schools/ms/library/webquest/testing.htm

Teacher guided practice by itself: Water site at http://www.buydehydratedwater.com/

Students will compare two sites using the evaluation tool and questions:

SITE 1: Mankato I at http://www.ci.mankato.mn.us/

SITE 2: Mankato II at http://descy.50megs.com/mankato/mankato.html

SITE 1: Kennelwood at http://www.kennelwood.com/

SITE 1: Dog Island at http://www.thedogisland.com/