Evaluating Web Sources

  1. But-I found it on the Internet!
    Read this article to find out why it is important to teach our students critical web evaluation
  2. Web Site Evaluation Check List
    Use this list to evaluate individual web sites and to teach how to do it.
  3. Look at the Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Sources below to understand the rationale and what to look for on a site. Also, take a look at the example sites for each of the criteria.
  4. Finally, take a look at some of the links to further your knowledge of how to evaluate web sites.

Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Sources

Accuracy | Authority | Objectivity | Currency | Coverage

Accuracy

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

Authority

>Look for a header or footer showing affilitation.
>Look at the URL. http://www.fbi.gov
>Look at the domain. .edu, .com, .ac.uk, .org, .net

Rationale

  • See all of the rationale for accuracy above
  • It is often difficult to determine a web page's authorship
  • Even if a page is signed, qualifications are not usually given
  • Sponsorship isn't usually indicated

 

Objectivity

Rationale

  • Frequently the goals of the sponsors/authors aren't clearly stated.
  • Often the Web serves as a soapbox.

Currency

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 or when the material was first placed on the Web or when the material was last revised.

Coverage

Rationale

  • Web coverage often differs from print coverage.
  • Frequently, it's difficult to determine the extent of coverage.
  • Sometimes web information is just-for-fun or outright silliness.

Links for More Evaluation Information

Examples
Web Sites from The Good, The Bad & The Ugly:
or, Why It's a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Sources

Chico Unified School District
Advanced Information Retrieval/Literacy
with Analysis of Web Sites Proficiency Testing
This is a great page by a great librarian, Peter Milbury, at Chico High School. On it are many examples of bogus web sites that will be useful for you and your students to look at.

Kathy Schrock's Guide to Educators
Critical Evaluation Information

A Web Quest About Evaluating Web Sites

Evaluating a Site @ 2 Learn.ca

Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools
Olin & Uris Libraries at Cornell University

Evaluating Web Pages:
Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask
U.C. Berkeley Library

Last updated September 29, 2004

Michelle Powers
Library Media Specialist
Mission High School
3750 18th Street
San Francisco, California
415-241-6240
mpowers100@aol.com

The information for this page is from:
Beck, Susan. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Evaluation Criteria. 22 Sept. 2004
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly:
or, Why It's a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Sources