Evaluating Web Sites
This tutorial is intended to help you evaluate Web sites as well as other sources.
Not only do you need to evaluate Web sites, but also print and non-print material. The principles taught in this tutorial can be applied to other types of sources as well. However, for the purposes of this tutorial, we will focus on how to evaluate Web sites.
Ask yourself the following questions:
1. Who is the author?
Who created the Web site? Who is responsible for the Web site? Is it a person, university, or corporation? One indication can be found by looking at the domain suffix (i.e. .com, .gov, .edu, .org).
DOMAIN SUFFIXES:
.edu - EDUCATIONAL. Reliable? YES. Watch out for: Student pages.
.gov - GOVERNMENT. Reliable? YES. Watch out for: Bias.
.org - ORGANIZATIONS (i.e. non-profits). Reliable? YES. Watch out for: Bias.
.com - COMMERICAL. Reliable? Can be. Watch out for: Bias and/or false information.
2. Do you recognize the author?
It is important to know who is responsible for the information on a Web site. If you do not recognize the author you may need to do some research to find out who they are. The "About Us" link will often tell you who the author is and should give you enough information to decide whether this author is reliable or not. However, you still may need to do more research. Does the author have credentials that qualify him/her to write authoritatively on the subject? Always question the reliability until you know who is responsible for the Web site.
3. Does the Web site include cited sources?
The type of information you are looking for on the Web will determine whether you need to see if the Web site provides references for the information. You need to ask yourself, "How do I know this information is accurate?" If you can't answer this question, the Web site may not be reliable.
4. Does the author/creator provide contact information?
A reliable organization, corporation, government agency, or education institution should always provide contact information. Sometimes this information is found under the link "About Us," but it is usually found under the "Contact Us" link. If this information is not provided for any of these types of Web sites, the reliability of these institutions should be questioned.
5. Does the Web site give a date it was created or last updated?
The topic of the Web site will determine whether the date is important. For example, health-related Web sites need to be frequently updated to include the most current information. When you are citing a Web site, you will need the date of when the Web site was created or updated. Unfortunately, there are times when the date is not provided (this includes reliable Web sites too!).
6. Does the Web site provide broad coverage of the topic?
It is always good to have some background information from a reliable source before looking on the Internet for information. The Web site should cover a range of related topics, not just the topic you are searching. Once you are knowledgeable about the topic you are searching for, you will then know whether a Web site has broad coverage and reliable information about the topic.
Content created by Tracy Ruppman & Victoria West-Pawl, 10.25.04