How Do I Find Useful Websites? Evaluating Webpages

An Informational Web Page as a research source should present factual information. Since anyone can put up a web page, careful evaluation of the information and the source is always necessary. If you cannot find the author of a web page, taking off one URL directory at a time might help. Use biography reference or online sources to find out about the author.

• The following criteria should be used when evaluating all web pages:

Authority, Accuracy, Objectivity, Currency and Coverage.

WHO sponsors the page? The name and email address of the organization should be obvious.

• Check to see who wrote the web page and the author's qualifications for writing on this topic. You may need to use a biographical source or online directory.

• Educational institutions and government pages are considered more accurate than a .com. The URL address ends in .edu or .gov. A ~ [tilde] in the URL generally means the web page is personal, for example, faculty at a university.

Are the sources for any factual information clearly listed so they can be verified?

• Use reference books to check facts. Grammatical, spelling and typographical errors may indicate sloppy work.
• Graphs or tables are easy to read. Are sources clear?

Is the information provided as a public service by a respected organization?

• Is there a particular viewpoint? Could some information be biased?
• Is it trying to sell a product? Check to see if there is any advertising on the web page. Sometimes paid ads are placed on pages in return for hosting a site.
• Is informational content distinguishable from advertising?

When was the page written?

• When the web page was placed on the web, updated or revised?
• Could you find more current information in another source?

Is there an indication that the page is complete and is not still under construction?

• Check to see if this is part of a print version or the entire work.
• Check to see if this is a sample of a piece of work.

PRACTICE EXAMPLES

Would you use these pages for a research paper and why? If not, find a better page and tell why you think it's a better choice.

• Ozymandias
• Biodiversity
• Cloning
• California Agriculture
• Animal Rights

  

  TUTORIALS AND MORE INFORMATION

• OWH Library short tutorial on web site evaluation
• ICYouSee: T is for Thinking from the Ithaca College Library

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