Hey there! Have you evaluated?

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Hey there! Have you evaluated?
Is that site good enough to cite?
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Hmmm. This one looks good. How can I tell for
sure?
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Its okay to be confused!

• There are billions of websites out there
• Many of them are not worthy of your time and
  dont belong in your bibliographies!
• Sometimes its very hard to tell treasure from
  trash
• Sometimes Web developers dont want you to
  understand the difference

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RememberAnyone can publish anythingon the
Web!It is your job, as a researcher, to look
for quality!
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Yeah, and how can we be sure our teacher will
think its good enough to cite?
Okay, so how do we know if a site is good?
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Think of RADCAB
RELEVANCY APPROPRIATENESS DETAIL CURRENCY AUTHORIT
Y BIAS
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RELEVANCY

• Did I use keywords and questions relevant to
  (related to or important to) my search?
• Is the information relevant to my question?
• Am I on the right track?

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APPROPRIATENESS

• Is the information suitable for my age and core
  values?
• Will the information on this site help me answer
  my question?

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DETAIL

• How much information do I need?
• Is the depth of coverage adequatedoes the site
  give me in depth information?

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CURRENCY

• When was the information published, created, or
  last updated?

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AUTHORITY

• Who is the author of the information?
• What are his or her qualifications (why are THEY
  an expert on this subject)?
• Does he or she offer first-hand credibility? (For
  instance, a Vietnam veteran or a witness to
  Woodstock?)
• Who actually published this page?
• Is this a personal page or is it an endorsed part
  of a site belonging to a major institution?
  (Clues pointing to a personal page tilde, ,
  users, members)
• Is the page hosted by a free server like AOL
  Members, Tripod, Geocities? Or did someone PAY to
  have it hosted?

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BIAS

• Why was this information written?
• Was it written to inform me, persuade me,
  entertain me or sell me something?

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Website Evaluation Checklist

• What type of domain is it?
• http//www.thedogisland.com/
• What does a domain name tell us?

.comcommercial sites (vary in their
credibility) .govU.S. government
site .orgorganization, often non-profit. Some
have strong bias and agendas .eduschool or
university site (is it K12? By a student? By a
scholar?) .storeretail business .intinternationa
l institution .aceducational institution (like
.edu) .
milU.S. military site .netnetworked service
provider, Internet administrative
site .museummuseum .nameindividual Internet
user .biza business .proprofessionals
site personal site (not reliable)
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Is this a personal page?

• or personal site
• Reliable?

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What do their URLs reveal about these sites?
http//personal.statecollege.edu/ejv114/
http//www.fi.edu/wright/index.html
http//www.house.gov/house/Legproc.html
http//aolmembers.com/joyciev328/civalwarsong
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So, why should we care about all of this?
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There are bigger questions in life!You will be
using information to make important decisions!

• Which car should I buy?
• Which doctor should I choose?
• Should my child have this surgery?
• Should I take this medication?
• You want to be able to ensure the information
  you choose is reliable, credible, current,
  balanced, relevant, and accurate!

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Just as you evaluate your sources . . .
Your teacher will evaluate your work based on the
quality of the sources you select. Evaluate
carefully. Dont settle for good enough! Quality
always counts!
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Evaluation is important!Learn to be fussy!