Evaluating Web Resources: Dissecting the Web

Why do we need to evaluate websites?

1. Huge amount of information and misinformation is easily accessible on the Internet
2. Anybody can publish anything for any reason on the web for a small fee or free
3. Many pages are not updated nor have they gone through an editorial process
4. Users need to learn to discriminate between information resources of varying quality and to detect bias and conflict of interest and look beyond advertising and propaganda strategies to identify useful content

What are the main criteria for web evaluation?

Type of website

.com, .edu, .gov, .mil, .net, .org

Authority

Who is the author? Is she or he an expert? Who is the publisher? Are they reputable? Is the site affiliated with a reputable organization? Who is paying for it? Does the site have sponsors? Does the online document contain a biography about the author and an email address? Did you link to this site from a site you trust?

Accuracy

Is it true? Where did they get the information? Can you find this information elsewhere for confirmation? Is it free of error? Does it have citations? And are they complete so that the original sources can be found easily?

Objectivity

Some sites try to persuade rather than inform by over-generalization and over-simplification. So some things to think about are: is the page actually an ad disguised as information? Is it clear who is sponsoring the website? Does the information contain a well-balanced view? Does it offer facts or only opinions? Is it biased? Is the language loaded, does it appeal to emotions? Is it satirical, commercial or political?

Currency

When was the page published? When was this website last updated? Is it current enough? Is the site dated? Can we find any dead-links?

Purpose/Intended Audience

What is the purpose of the page? Why did the author create it? Who runs it? What do they want from you? And who is the targeted audience? Kids, buyers, college students? Do they want your personal information?

What kind of websites are out there?

1. Advocacy (National Rifle Association)
2. Business/Marketing (The Coca Cola Company)
3. News (CNN)
4. Informational (US Census American Fact Finder)
5. Educational (Touro)
6. Entertainment (Disney)
7. Institutional (World Trade Organization)
8. Personal (Dave Andersen)
9. Hoax (Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division)