Webpage Evaluation Basics

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• Webpage Evaluation Basics
• Prepared by Laurie LeFever, LMS
• Frazer School

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What do you think?
Everything on the Internet is true!
Web sites are so much easier to use than books!
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Not necessarily!

• So what should we be looking for when we are
  using the Internet for research?
• 1. Reliability
• 2. Ease of Use

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Checking Out the Reliability

• URL (address)
• Domain
• Page Perimeter

• Link Search
• Page History
• Author Info.
• Directories

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Whats in a URL?
jsmith personal name investigate!
http//jsmith.pein.org
.org non-profit organization

• Is there a personal name (i.e., jsmith) in the
  URL? If so, you need to carefully investigate
  the author.
• Is the site commercial (.com)? If so, watch out
  for bias. Remember, the company is trying to
  make a profit from the page.

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Deciphering the Domain Name

• Think about it What source would provide the
  best information for your research topic?
• Government .gov, .mil, .us
• (or other country code, such as .uk)
• Education .edu
• Non-profit organizations .org
• Commercial .com, .net (Remember, these ISPs are
  trying to make . Their information could be
  biased in order to help them do so!

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Scan the Page Perimeter

• What can you find out about the author?
• Is there contact information for him/her?
• When was the page last updated?
• Who is sponsoring the site?
• Does the page link to other reliable sites?
• Does the page include citations to reputable
  information sources?

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Get the inside scoop!

• Checkout the history of the Web site
• Go to the Wayback Machine
• (http//www.archive.org/web/web.php)
• Enter the URL of the site in question.
• Evaluate the results of the archive search.

• Find out who links to the Web site
• Go to Google or Yahoo!
• Type link in the search box.
• Enter the URL of the site in question.
• Evaluate the results.

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How reputable is the author and/or site?

• Check the Directories
• Directories offer links that have been evaluated
  by librarians and academics
• Librarians Index (http//lii.org/)
• Infomine (http//infomine.ucr.edu/)
• About.com (http//about.com/)
• AcademicInfo (http//www.academicinfo.net/)

• Google the Author
• Search the authors name
• in 3 ways
• Without quotes
• Enclosed in quotes
• Enclosed in quotes with between first and last
  names

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Is it user-friendly?

• Navigation
• Is it easy to move around in the site?
• Can you control how fast you move around?
• Are hyperlinks/buttons active?
• Can you control what you see on the page?
• Organization
• Is the purpose of the site clear? Information?
  Sales? Share? Disclose? Explain?
• Is the page well-organized?

• Support
• Is there a help function?
• Content
• Are their clear graphics visuals to support
  text?
• Do content/graphics download in a timely manner?
• Can you read and understand content information?
• Does content meet your information needs?

Rate it
10 Awesome! 8-9 Good 7 Average
6 and under Needs Work
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Lets Review

• Usage Checklist
• Easy to Navigate
• Well Organized
• Support Available
• Useful Content

• Reliability Checklist
• URL
• Domain
• Page Perimeter
• Page History
• Link Search
• Author Information
• Directories

Try these bogus Web sites for practice http//www
.andoverhs.anoka.k12.mn.us/IMC/bogus.html
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This presentation was created based on
information from

• Barker, Joe. Evaluating Web Pages Techniques to
  Apply Questions to Ask. Finding Information on
  the Internet A Tutorial. Regents of the
  University of California. 15 Jul. 2005
  http//www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Int
  ernet/Evaluate.html.
• Microsoft Clip Art.
• Small, Ruth V. Designing Digital Literacy
  Programs with IM-PACT. New York Neal Schuman
  Publishers, Inc., 2005.