WebJunction

Web Site Evaluation Resources

The staff of your library will be called upon increasingly to recommend and vouch for the credibility of Web sites. Yet, it is often unclear as to whether certain Web sites are legitimate. Here is a guide to help you evaluate Web sites that you are not already familiar with. It trains you to think critically about what you find online and gives you some hints of what to look for.

Criteria for evaluating Web Sites

Accuracy: Are sources cited and data backed up by research?

• What is the domain: .edu, .com?
• If in doubt, can you verify the information in a print resource?

Authority: What are the author's qualifications for writing about this subject?

• If the site is sponsored by an organization, is the mission stated clearly?

Objectivity: Is the information presented without inappropriate or

• or misrepresented bias?
• Is the purpose of the Web site to inform, sell, persuade, or entertain?

Currency: What is the date of the lastupdate?

• Are the links up to date and active?

Coverage:

• Are the topics included explored in sufficient depth?
• Does any important information seem to be left out?

Criteria - A Three-Minute Evaluation:

• Who put the site on the Web?
• Why did they put this site on the Web?
• When was the site put on theWeb, or when was it last updated?

Purpose: The purpose of a Web site usually falls into several categories.

• Persuade (advocacy)
• Inform (to report research, provide information about subject)
• Sell (advertising or company Web sites)
• Entertain or provide personal information

Evaluation Resources

link:URL
To investigate what Web sites link to a particular page.
Example -- link:www.irs.gov

WHOIS Records
www.networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois
To determine who owns a particular domain name.

Hoaxes and Myths

The Virtual Chase
http://www.virtualchase.com/quality/alert.html
Links to sites alerting Web searchers to scams and hoaxes.

Lies, Damned Lies, and the Internet
http://www.marylaine.com/lies.html
Internet trainer and librarian Marylaine Block's resources for uncovering hoaxes, urban legends, and other myths. See the Protections for Searchers category.