Evaluating
Web Sites
Introduction|Criteria
Some Evaluated Gateway Sites|Links|Checklist
for Teachers and Students
Introduction
The
availability of Internet resources has added a very exciting dimension
to research. It is possible to find information on almost any topic
one could think of. The difficulty lies in the fact that anyone
can publish on the Web.
When
a library builds a book collection, careful thought and evaluation are
part of the selection process. When you access a Web site, there
is no evaluative process. Therefore it is the responsibility of
the user/researcher to do his/her own evaluation. The traditional
criteria for evaluation of books can also be applied to the evaluation
of Web sites. Criteria can be divided into 5 traditional areas and
one additional area:
Authority|Accuracy|Currency|Objectivity|Coverage|Technical
Aspects
Authority:
- Who
is the author of the site? If it is an individual do they
provide any personal or background information?
- If
the author is an organization, what information is provided about
the organization?
- Is
there a contact or e-mail address?
- Check
the URL: The domain name indicates who sponsors the site:
.gov indicates a government site, .com a commercial site, .mil military,
.edu educational, .org an organization and .net network. this
does not mean that any site with a .edu is valid or that any .com
site is not authoritative. This is just one indicator to look
at.
- The
tilde "~" symbol indicates that the page is a personal
page and is not officially sponsored by the host site.
- Is
there a copyright symbol © at the bottom of the page that indicates
who has responsibility for the page?
Accuracy:
- Is
the information grammatically correct?
- Is
the presentation clear?
- Who
is presenting the information (authority)?
- If
there are links, do they work?
Currency:
- When
was the information written?
- When
was the last update?
- Are
the links current?
Objectivity:
- Is
the information biased?
- Who
is the sponsoring organization?
- Is
the site primarily trying to sell an idea or product?
Coverage:
- Is
the information relevant?
- Are
links to additional information or additional print resources cited?
- Is
the information complete?
- Who
is the intended audience?
Technical
Aspects:
- Is
the site easy to navigate?
- Does
the site load in a reasonable amount of time?
- Do
graphics (tables, charts, etc.) enhance the usefulness of the site?
- Is
the layout of the site appropriate for the information?
- Do
advertisements interfere with the usefulness of the site?
Links
to Additional Information
There are
also many good Web sites that discuss the evaluation process. Here are
some good links:
Evaluating
Web Resources by Jan Alexander and Marsha Ann Tate
http://www2.widener.edu/Wolfgram-Memorial-Library/webevaluation/webeval.htm
This
site includes a PowerPoint presentation useful for teachers
Evaluation
WebSites: Criteria and Tools
http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/webeval.html
Criteria
for Evaluating Web Sites
http://www.evalutech.sreb.org/criteria/web.asp
Evaluation
of Information sources, the world Wide Web Virtual Library
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~agsmith/evaln/evaln.htm
This is an extensive bibliography of web evaluation information
Also
available at the Richard Bland College Library:
Web Wisdom: How to Evaluate and Create Information Quality on the Web
by Janet E. Alexander and Marsha Ann Tate. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, 1999. This can be found at Ready Reference TK5105.888.A376/1999.
Evaluated
Gateway Sites
Some gateway
sites do provide links to evaluated Web sites. Try any of the following
for sites that have been evaluated. In most instances librarians have
provided the evaluations.
Best
Information on the Net (BIOTN)
From O'Keefe Library at St. Ambrose University. Check
out the "Hot Paper Topics"
BUBL
LINK (Bulletin board for Libraries)
Selected resources covering all subject areas
INFOMINE
Scholarly resources in the Social Sciences and Humanities
Librarian's
Index to the Internet
From the Library of California - covers a broad range of
topics
Academic
Info: Your Gateway to Quality Educational Resources
Includes a monthly update of new sites
A
Checklist for Teachers and Students
Authority:
- Who is
the author? If it is an organization, what do you know about the
organization?________________________________________________________________
- Is there
an e-mail or contact address? __________________________________________
- What does
the URL tell you about this site?______________________________________
Accuracy:
- Is the
information grammatically correct? ( ) Yes ( ) No
- Is the
presentation clear? ( ) Yes ( ) No
- Who is
presenting the information?____________________________________________
- If there
are links, do they work? ( ) Yes ( ) No
Currency:
- When was
the information written?_______________________________
- When was
the information last updated?___________________________
- Are the
links current? ( ) Yes ( ) No
Objectivity:
- Is there
bias? ( ) Yes ( ) No
- Who is
the sponsoring organization?_______________________________
- Is the
site primarily a marketing site? ( ) Yes ( ) No
Coverage:
- Is the
information relevant to the topic being researched? ( ) Yes
( ) No
- Are links
to additional information or print resources provided? ( ) Yes
( ) No
- Is the
information complete? ( ) Yes ( ) No
- Who is
the intended audience?__________________________
Technical
Aspects:
- Is the
site easy to navigate: ( ) Yes ( ) No
- Does the
site load in a reasonable amount of time? ( ) Yes
( ) No
- Do graphics
enhance the usefulness of the site? ( ) Yes ( ) No
- Is the
layout of the site appropriate for the information? ( ) Yes
( ) No
- Do advertisements
interfere with the usefulness of the site? ( ) Yes
( ) No
This checklist
may be printed for classroom use.
©
2001
Richard Bland College Library
Contact dvroman@rbc.edu with questions
or comments
Page
Updated June 2004
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