Evaluating Web Sites

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Evaluating Web Sites
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You probably like to surf the Web and find sites
you enjoy going to and you dont need to review
them critically.Theyre fun! And thats a big
part of what we like about the Web!
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However, when youre searching for Web sites to
include in a college research paper, youll want
to make sure you use authoritative sites with
accurate information.
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Today, youll learn to evaluate Web sites using
the following criteria

• Authority / Source
• Accuracy / Completeness
• Purpose / Objectivity
• Currency

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Why is it important to evaluate Web sites?

• Almost anyone can put almost anything on the
  Internet.
• Information on the Web is not subject to the same
  standards as a published book or magazine
  article.
• Web documents are not necessarily reviewed,
  edited, or even proofread.
• Some Web pages are written by experts, but others
  are written by those with little or no knowledge
  on the subject. 

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We realize its important to evaluate Web sites
we want to use for academic research, but what
criteria will we use?

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Ask yourself the following questions
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Who is responsible for posting this information
on the Web? (Determine the authority / source)
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What is the message?(Decide on accuracy /
completeness)
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Why is this information posted on the
Web?(Consider the purpose / objectivity)
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When was the information posted? (Look at the
currency)
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A hint about URLs.Before we take a look at
each of the main points for evaluation, the
domain suffixes for Web sites may provide
advance clues about the kinds of information to
expect, and the purpose of the information.
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• .com commercial
• .edu educational institution
• .org non-profit organization
• .gov government
• .mil military
• .net news and networks
• .biz business
• .info informational
• personal pages

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Lets take a look at each of the main points
were using to evaluate Web sites. After each
of these points, youll link to sites and
examine them.
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Who is responsible for posting this information
on the Web? (Authority / Source)

• An authoritative source lists the authors name
  along with his credentials and background.
• Contact information, such as email, should be
  given.
• Look for the name of the author or sponsoring
  organization. Is the sponsoring organization
  reputable?
• If no information is given, check any links that
  say Home or Main page to find the responsible
  party.
• Look at the Web sites URL or Address to try to
  determine affiliation.

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Lets examine some sites and focus on who wrote
and posted the Web page.Legalization of
Marijuana No.1http//www.norml.org

• Remember to
• Look for the author or sponsoring organization.
• Hint look at the URL.
• Look for a way to contact the author or
  organization.

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Lets take a quick review of the site you just
looked at, Legalization of Marijuana No. 1.
Would it be a reliable site to use when writing
a research paper about marijuana?

• Yes.
• This site is sponsored by the National
  Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
  Note .org in the URL.
• They promote issues such as medical marijuana,
  and provide information on laws that vary from
  state to state.
• If you clicked on Contact Us, you found several
  ways to get more information or ask questions.

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Lets take a look at another Web site. Remember,
we are focusing on the author of the
site.Legalization of Marijuana No.
2http//www.duke.edu/7Esgr5/p2.htm

• Look for the authors name and credentials
• This ones easy, click on The Author.
• Is he a student, like you?
• Is he an expert in the field?

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To review again, how about the site, Legalization
of Marijuana No. 2? Would you use it when
writing a research paper about marijuana?

• No.
• It was written by a student at Duke University.
• He is not an expert in the field. He tells us he
  was doing his own research so he can be better
  informed.
• You might be able to use a site he links to, but
  be careful and evaluate it on its own merits.
• He provides his email, but this wont help
  because you dont want to rely on his information
  even if he replies.

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What is the message? (Accuracy / Completeness)

• Read through the document for content.
• The content should be comprehensive and the facts
  should agree with other information you have
  found.
• A bibliography of reputable sources should be
  included.
• The document should be well written, without
  spelling or grammatical errors.
• Check any links to see if this is part of the
  document, or part of a larger site with
  additional content.

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Lets examine some sites and focus on the
accuracy and completeness of the
message.Secondhand Smoke No. 1http//www.epa.go
v/smokefree/pubs/etsbro.htmlWhat20is20Secondhan
d20Smoke

• Remember to
• Skim through the site and think about the
  accuracy and completeness of the message.
• Click on links to see if they add to the content.
• Do the facts seem reliable? Hint look at the
  URL.

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Lets take a quick review of the site, Secondhand
Smoke No. 1. Would it be a reliable site to use
in terms of being accurate and complete?

• Yes.
• The site is well organized and you can quickly
  find out what secondhand smoke is, the dangers,
  and how to protect yourself.
• The site is posted by the Environmental
  Protection Agency, a United States .gov, and we
  consider it reliable.
• Links lead to equally reliable sites Centers for
  Disease Control, National Cancer Institute, etc.
• Additional links lead to some of the EPAs
  publications.

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Lets take a look at another Web site. Remember,
we are focusing on the accuracy and completeness
of the message.Secondhand Smoke No.
2http//www.smokingsection.com/issues1.html

• Look at the content
• Do his facts seem accurate and complete?
• Do his facts agree with information from other
  sources on secondhand smoke?
• Are there spelling or grammatical errors?
• Is it well written, or is it a little excessive?

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To review again, how about the site Secondhand
Smoke No. 2? Is it accurate or complete enough
to use in a research paper about secondhand
smoke?

• No.
• He disregards all statistical information from
  the EPA and the American Heart Association.
• His facts dont agree with other facts youll
  find in books and magazine articles.
• He thinks science is corrupt.
• His writing has spelling errors.
• His arguments are stated in a very extreme style.

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Why is this information posted on the Web?
(Purpose / Objectivity)

• The documents purpose is clearly stated.
• Arguments and assumptions are logical and well
  supported.
• The presentation of the material is objective and
  any bias is plainly stated.
• The language should not be emotionally charged.
• Does the author or organization have a particular
  reason to try and convince the reader of their
  point of view?
• Does the author acknowledge other viewpoints and
  are other views fairly presented?

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Lets examine some sites and focus on the purpose
and objectivity of the Web site.Gun
Controlhttp//www.guncite.com

• Remember to consider the following
• Is the purpose clearly stated? Hint Look for
  the yellow highlighted word and click on Original
  intent and purpose.
• Is any bias plainly stated?
• Is the site too biased or could you consider
  using it to support one side of an argumentative
  research paper?
• Are the sites theories and arguments well
  supported?
• Are other viewpoints acknowledged?

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Lets review the site you just examined, Gun
Control. Would you use this site when writing an
argumentative paper that argues for the right to
bear arms?

• Yes.
• The purpose is clearly stated. This site
  provides arguments that support the right to bear
  arms and the Second Amendment is a major part of
  the argument.
• Their bias is plainly stated and their arguments
  support their side of the issue. Other views are
  mentioned in terms of being the opposing
  viewpoints on the gun control issue.
• The arguments are logical and well supported.
  Articles related to the Constitution, statistics,
  laws, and gun violence are included.
• This site may be too biased for some research
  papers and if you need a more balanced source,
  look for another site.

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Lets take a look at another site. Remember, we
are focusing on the purpose and objectivity of
the site.Halloweenhttp//www.jeremiahproject.co
m/culture/halloween.html

• Look for the following
• Read the beginning and then skim through the
  document. When you reach the end, click on Visit
  the Jeremiah Project Home Page.
• The site begins with the history of Halloween,
  then focuses on paganism, the occult, and
  satanism.
• You can also get some idea of the true purpose if
  you click on the link, The Dark Side of
  Halloween, about half way through.

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How about this site on Halloween? Would you use
it when writing a research paper on that holiday?

• No.
• The purpose of the site is not clearly stated at
  the beginning.
• The real purpose is to talk about Christianity
  and that purpose should have been clearly stated
  up front.
• The site looks as if it would be a fun site about
  Halloween, but in fact it is very much opposed to
  celebrating the holiday.
• His arguments are not well documented.

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When was the information posted? (Currency)

• Look for any dates that tell you when the
  information was first written or posted on the
  Web.
• Very often, a date will be given that tells when
  the site was last updated.
• Dates are often located at the end of the
  document, so scroll to the end of the page.
• Are the links current, or are there many dead
  links?

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Lets examine some sites and focus on the
currency of the Web site.Latin American
Studieshttp//lanic.utexas.edu/las.html

• This ones easier.
• For this site, look several lines down from the
  top of the page and read and click on Whats New
  . . .
• Look at that date! It doesnt get any more
  current than this!

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Would you use this site, Latin American Studies,
to find current information when writing a
research paper on this topic?

• Yes.
• There is probably an automatic updating of the
  date as it updates daily.
• The information may also be updated daily, but
  even if its updated on a weekly basis, you can
  see this site provides very current information.

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Lets take a look at another Web site.
Remember, we are focusing on the currency of the
site.Cloninghttp//people.msoe.edu/tritt/sf/cl
oning.humans.html

• This ones also easy.
• Scroll to the end of the page and read This page
  last updated . . . (It includes another date that
  says when a link was fixed.)
• Click on several links and see if they connect,
  or if they are dead links.

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How about the site on cloning? Is the
information current enough to use in a research
paper that you want to be up to date?

• No.
• Cloning and genetics are topics that are updating
  rapidly with new research.
• Youll probably want information more recent than
  1998.
• About half of the links are dead links.
• Several of the links connect to sites you may
  want to use, but remember to evaluate each
  separate site.

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Whew! Thats a lot to think about!Lets
review by listing the evaluating criteria

• Authority / Source
• Accuracy / Completeness
• Purpose / Objectivity
• Currency

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Its your turn to evaluate two Web sites.
Youll evaluate each one in terms of the
criteria youve learned. The worksheet you are
given includes the criteria and will help guide
you through the process as you answer the
questions.Feel free to review the tutorial.
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Thank you for attending this session!