Evaluating Web Pages:

A Checklist of Points to Consider[1]

Ashley S. Moss-Pham

The Big Issues	Why These Issues Matter
Authorship Who wrote/created the web page or site? (Click on links for “About Us,” “Philosophy,” “Background,” etc.) Who maintains the web page or site? Are they the same person? What are this person’s credentials? Does the author have an obvious or subtle bias on the particular issue he/she is writing about, or is he/she able to be somewhat objective?	Trustworthiness of information · If the author does not have the credentials – i.e., the education, experience, or expertise in the area he/she is writing about – then the information he/she has posted is of little or no value · If the author is biased, the information is, by definition, suspect. (Note: we all have biases and opinions on all topics, but most of us can at least see and articulate other points of view on a given topic. If the author cannot do that, do not rely upon his/her information).
URL’s (domain/ “publisher”) Is the domain commercial (.com); educational (.edu); non-profit (.org)? Is the “publisher” of the web page a reputable source, one that is known to you? (Example:www.washingtonpost.com or www.pbs.org)	Motivations for “Publishing” If the author or entity who created the web page wants to sell you something, you should regard the information contained therein with a healthy skepticism If the author or entity is an academic institution or non-profit like the Public Broadcasting Service, you can trust that the information is more reliable
Sources Does the web page or site have links to other sources that look reputable (look at domain names and “publishers” to determine this!) Does it provide footnotes or a bibliography as a print source would?	Trustworthiness of Information Like print sources, web pages or sites are far more reliable if the information they contain can be documented by reference to other works (especially print works that have undergone the scrutiny of editors and publishing houses before going to press). A web page or site that draws its authority from links to other reputable websites is more reliable than one which cannot do this
Currency Is the information cited in the web page or site recent or old? Are the links to other websites provided on the page current and “live” or are they dead ends?	Usefulness of Information If the subject of your research is, like many topics, constantly evolving as human beings gain new knowledge and insights, then old, outdated information will be of little use to you in your current research If the links to other websites provided on this page are frequently dead ends, this indicates that the page probably has not been updated for a long time. The implications of this fact are the same as stated above for “subject of your research.”
Critical Reception What do others say about the web page or site in their reviews? How many visits has the web page or web site received since its inception? How many other websites is this web page or web site linked to? Instructions to find the information above: Go to www.alexa.com Type or paste URL into the search field Read results, including reviews from other visitors to the site.	Validity and Usefulness of Site from Others’ Perspectives While high traffic on a site is not necessarily a guarantee of its validity or usefulness, it can sometimes be one index of how good the site is (never rely on this factor alone to judge quality) If a site is linked to many other sites, this can be an indication that many other web page designers find that site or page useful. Again, use this information as one factor among many for judging quality Sometimes web pages are linked to the websites of both admirers and detractors. Read both points of view if available to help you arrive at an accurate judgment of the value of the website.

A Comparison of Two Websites Using the Criteria Above:

Holocaust Denial: An Online Guide to Exposing and Combating Anti-Semitic Propaganda

http://www.adl.org/holocaust/introduction.asp

An organization (and website) dedicated to combating anti-Semitism. The website is extensive with links to sections on Civil Rights, Education, Holocaust, International Affairs, Terrorism, Security, etc.

Description of Objective:

In selecting two websites for purposes of comparison – one good, one bad – I thought it would be interesting to look at sites which addressed the issue of Holocaust Denial (or “revisionism” as its proponents like to call it). My first thought was to visit a neo-Nazi website in order to see an obvious and blatant example of propaganda and misinformation being published on the internet. However, I ended up finding a much more interesting example of a bad website – the website of the Anti-Defamation League.

The reason I describe the ADL website as a much more interesting example of a bad website than a neo-Nazi one would be is that its “badness” is so much more difficult to detect. On the topic of Holocaust denial, the ADL is on the correct side of the issue. It fulfills much of the criteria listed above (except for good critical reception); yet, it is a website so driven by pro-Israel ideological zeal as to be unreliable as a source of information. At first glance, it fulfills the much of the criteria for authorship and publication cited above: after all, what could be objectionable about a non-profit organization that fights discrimination and promotes civil rights? It also has links to extensive bibliographic data on the topic of the Holocaust and links to the respected professors and academics who denounce the revisionism of the Holocaust that has been taking place over the past two decades. It has live links and seems generally up-to-date in its information. However – and here is the rub – when viewed as a whole, it is quite biased in its presentation and interpretation of information of a political and/or international nature. Also, the reviews provided by alexa.com would have alerted me to the problems with this website had I not already noticed them myself. Alexa.com is a very helpful tool for evaluation in this regard. The ADL website would be a useful one to have students evaluate, but only after they already had gained some experience with easier-to-identify “bad” websites.

Internet Modern History Sourcebook

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook44.html

An extensive set of collections of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts, maps, and articles on a wide variety of historical areas and subjects. Compiled by Prof. Paul Halsall at Fordham University.

The “good” website I found is Professor Paul Halsall’s Internet Modern History Sourcebook which contains a section on the Holocaust and the history of anti-Semitism and includes a section on Holocaust revisionism. I judge the site as good based on the majority of the criteria listed above.

To begin, I checked Paul Halsall’s curriculum vitae which is posted on the site. He has a long and impressive list of accomplishments in academia, including having held teaching fellowships and posts at several universities besides Fordham. He has also published quite a bit and is an historian whose breadth of knowledge and interests is impressive.

In looking around the page on the Holocaust, I was impressed by the range of materials included and the use of bibliographic data to authenticate the site. The only major criticism I have of the site is that there are a number of dead links in several different categories. It seems Professor Halsell needs to update this section of the website. That criticism notwithstanding, there are enough live links to varied and interesting information to make the site worthwhile for the would-be researcher of an historical topic.

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[1] The format of this checklist was adapted from the chart created by Jim Kapoun in "Teaching undergrads WEB evaluation: A guide for library instruction." C&RL News (July/August 1998): 522-523. Reprinted with permission of the author in the Olin and Uris Libraries, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853 IRIS: Instruction, Research & Information Services <http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webcrit.html>