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As with any resource used or documents identified, it is important to think critically about the information presented and not to be 'distracted' by the presentation or marketing of the information. Anyone can publish a web page and, therefore, the quality of information varies.
Checklist for Evaluating Web Sources
When you find a webpage you want to use, go over the following checklist to insure that the page is a quality one.
I. Authority |
- Is there an author?
- Is the author qualified? An expert?
- What organization is responsible for the content?
- Is the sponsor of the page reputable? How reputable?
- Is there a link to information about the author or the sponsor?
- If the page includes neither an author nor indicates a sponsor, is there any other way to determine its origin?
- Look for a header or footer showing affiliation.
- Look at the URL
- Look at the domain. .edu, .com, .ac.uk, .org, .net
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Rationale
- Anyone can publish anything on the web.
- It is often hard to determine a web page's authorship.
- Even if a page has an author, qualifications are not usually provided.
- Sponsorship is not always indicated.
- The domain tells you a lot about the type of page
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II. Accuracy |
- Is the information reliable and error-free?
- Is there an editor or someone who verifies/checks the information?
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Rationale
- Anyone can publish anything on the web
- Unlike traditional print resources, web resources rarely have editors or fact-checkers.
- Currently, no web standards exist to ensure accuracy.
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III. Objectivity |
- Does the information show a minimum of bias?
- Is the page designed to sway opinion?
- Is there any advertising on the page?
- Look at the domain. .edu, .com, .ac.uk, .org, .net
- a .com is probably trying to sell you something
- a .net usually means the .com was already in use
- a .org is an non-profit organization. They are still trying to sell something even if they aren't making money.
- .ac .uk and others are for specific countries
- .edu is for schools and colleges. Some colleges and universities give students webspace.
- .gov is a government webpage.
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Rationale
- Frequently the goals of the sponsors/authors are not clearly stated.
- Often the Web serves as a virtual soapbox.
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IV. Currency |
- Is the page dated?
- If so, when was the last update?
- How current are the links? Have some expired or moved?
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Rationale
- Publication or revision dates are not always provided.
- If a date is provided, it may have various meanings. For example,
- It may indicate when the material was first written
- It may indicate when the material was first placed on the Web.
- It may indicate when the material was last revised.
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V. Coverage |
- What topics are covered?
- What does this page offer that is not found elsewhere?
- What is its intrinsic value?
- How in-depth is the material?
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Rationale
- Web coverage often differs from print coverage.
- Frequently, it's difficult to determine the extent of coverage of a topic from a web page. The page may or may not include links to other web pages or print references.
- Sometimes web information is "just for fun", a hoax, someone's personal expression that may be of interest to no one, or even outright silliness.
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