Evaluating Web Resources

Introduction

Web browsers, such as Netscape and Internet Explorer, simply go to Web addresses. Search directories engines, such as Yahoo! or Google, simply look for terms that you designate. Web browsers and Web search tools do not evaluate the accuracy or value of the Web sites, and there are sites that contain inaccurate, out-of-date, or false information. You are responsible for determining the usefulness and validity of the sites you view.

Types of Web Sites

There are many different types of information available on the Web, but most Web pages can be categorized into one (or more) of five basic types

business/marketing

news & current events

informational

advocacy

personal

BUSINESS AND MARKETING

Business or marketing pages are usually published by companies or other commercial enterprises.

Their primary purpose is to promote the company or to sell products. Business and marketing pages often include a mixture of information, entertainment and propaganda.

Examples include

Microsoft

Amazon

For U.S. based sites, the URL or Web address usually ends in .com
For international based sited sites, the URL or Web address often ends in .co.** (** is the two letter country extension).

NEWS AND CURRENT EVENTS

News and current events pages provide extremely up-to-date information, and include news centers, newspapers and other periodicals. Some news and current events may only provide a limited amount of free information–a few days worth to a few weeks worth– and/or may require registration. Examples include CNN The New York Times

INFORMATIONAL

Informational pages provide factual information on a particular topic. Informational pages are often provided by government (.gov) or educational institutions (.edu) and may include reference materials, research reports, databases, calendars of events, statistics, etc. Examples include U.S. Census Bureau U.S. Code Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

ADVOCACY

Advocacy pages are usually published by an organization with the purpose of influencing public opinion. The URL address of an advocacy Web page frequently ends in .org (organization). Examples include National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League National Right to Life Committee Republican Party Democratic Party

PERSONAL

Personal pages are published by individuals who may or may not be part of a larger group or organizations. Personal Web pages may include almost any type of information including biographical data, information on work, hobbies, etc. Examples include individual or family home pages, individual faculty or students at a university, and member pages from an Internet Service Provider. For U.S. based sites, the URL often includes a tilde (~).

Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites

Many of the same criteria for judging library databases and resources can also be used for Web sites. Criteria to keep in mind when viewing Web sites authority accuracy objectivty & bias currency coverage

AUTHORITY

Who is the site's author?

Authors and creators of Web sites should be clearly stated within the sites.

Means should be included for contacting authors and/or the Webmaster.

Example of the need to consider an author's identity:

www.geocities.com/lioness_tarots/index.html

Who is the site's author? The author refers to himself or herself as "I" and never identifies who they are.

Can the author be contacted? No physical mailing or email addresses are indicated to find out who is behind this Website.

Is the author qualified in the subject area the Web site deals with?

Authors credentials and/or biographical information or affiliations should be included.

Qualifications should be verifiable.

Example of the need to consider an author's identity:

www.improb.com/airchives/paperair/volume1/v1i1/barney.htm

Can each author's credentials be verfiied? For example, is Edward C. Theriot affiliated with the Academy of Natural Sciences?

Have any of the authors published other research articles? For example, would a search in WilsonWeb General Science, ScienceDirect, or Cambridge Scientific databases–available in the Electronic Library–yield articles written by Theriot, Bogan, or Spamer.

Who is sponsoring/hosting the site?

Any commercial or organizational affiliations should also be included.

Consider the Web address

the doman (.com, .edu, .org, .gov, etc.)

a tilde (~) in the Web address often indicates a personal Web page

popular Internet services providers (AOL, Earthlink, Erol's, MSN) and free Web hosting sites (Angelfire, Tripod, GeoCities) often host personal Web pages

Example of the need to consider who's hosting a site:

www.nd.edu/~krocinst/sept11.html

Who is hosting the site? This is an educational institution (www.nd.edu)

Is this a personal Web site? The tilde (~) in the Web address might seem to suggest this is a personal Web site, but it is actually the Kroc Institute at the University of Notre Dame.

ACCURACY

What are the sources of information for the site?

Information should be supported by a bibliography or list of references (resources).

Facts are verifiable and are in line with other sources–the site does not provide information that is totally at odds with all other sources.

Information from sources is interpreted and used correctly.

Individual pages in the site are signed and attributed.

Example of the need to consider a site's sources of information:

www.bartleby.com/65/ma/marijuan.html

What are the sources of information for the site? The site presents historic information and facts cited in a bibliography.

Is the information verifiable? The information presented agrees with other sources on the the same topic.

Are individual pages signed and attributed? Bibliographic information is included for each Web page in this site.

Are the sources of information reputable?

The sources cited should be from well-known sources or authorities.

The sources cited should be current.

The sources cited include external sites–not just pages within the same Web site–written by qualified authors.

Example of the need to consider if a site's sources of information are reputable:

www.improb.com/airchives/paperair/volume8/v8i2/tv-sex.html

Are the sources of information reputable? The sources include a news article on a government Web site.

Are the sources current? Cited references were less than a year old when the article was written.

OBJECTIVITY AND BIAS

Is the author being biased or objective?

The bias–attitudes about a topic–of an author should be taken into account.

The author may present information in a fair, balanced and moderate manner or may be overly emotional or extreme in his or her views.

Consider the impact of any stated and/or unstated affiliations (companies, groups, organizations, etc) of the author.

The organization may posses vertain the goals and/or values.

Example of the need to consider an author's bias or objectivity.

dbs.cordis.lu/

Is the author being biased or objective? Would it make a difference if a cell phone and cancer study was being partially sponsored by a call phone manufacturer, Nokia.

If the information was coming from a governemental organization, such as the Food and Drug Administration, would it be more objective than information on a company's Web site.

What is the purpose of the site?

Consider the types of Web pages mentioned earlier in this section.

Determine whether the page is trying to entertain, inform, persuade or advertise.

Advertising should be clearly seperated from the information on the page.

Example of the need to consider a site's purpose:

www.peta-online.org/mc/facts/fsent4.html

Would information on a Web site an advocacy group such as PETA–People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals–be entertaining or persuasive?

Is the information advertising supported?

CURRENCY

Is there a date of last update or revision?

Determine if the revision date indicates a content revision or a minor change to the page (typographical error, link chnage, etc.).

Is the information up-to-date?

Consider how old the information is–is the content current.

Determine if it is important that the content be current. Generally, subjects in the social sciences and humanities have a longer shelf life than subjects in science, technology, and business.

Numerous broken links may indicate an out-of-date page.

Example of the need to consider a site's currency:

www.schwaben.de/home/schmidt/nepenthes/cpframes.html

A Web site may be intended to advocate, advertise/market, entertain, inform, etc

A site may have mutiple purposes, such as to sell and to inform.

COVERAGE

What is the site's purpose?

A Web site may be intended to advocate, advertise/market, entertain, inform, etc

A site may have mutiple purposes, such as to sell and to inform.

Example of the need to consider a site's purpose:

www.cdnow.com

What is the purpose of this Web site? Does it have multiple purposes? Is this site purely informational or are they also trying to sell CDs?

Is the site relevant to your needs?

Determine the scope of the site and what it focuses on.

Consider if the information meets your needs–is it relevant

Example of the need to consider a site's relevancy:

www.akc.org/breeds/recbreeds/shetshee.cfm

Is the site relevant to your needs?

Determine the scope of the site and what it focuses on. If you were looking for basic information about a particular dog breed would this site help you out?

Consider if the information meets your needs–is it relevant. If you were looking for someone to buy particular type of dog, does this site provide links to breeders?

Whom is the site intended for?

A Web site may be intended for a particular audience, such as consumers, academic researchers, persons with a common interest, children, fans, etc.

The reading level of the page may be easy to read or challenging.

A level of subject expertise may or may not be expected.

Example of the need to consider who a site is intended for:

xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/9906001

Who is the site intended for? If you are not a physicist, this article may be challenging to understand.

Does the site have a quality look and feel?

Appearance of Web sites can be deceptive–professional looking Web sites are easy to create.

A simple Web design does not indicate a poor information source; nor does a complex Web design indicate a quality information source.

Content is more important than flashy graphics and text effects.

Banner ads may be indicative of a personal Web page.

Watch for Web sites with numerous typographical errors.

Example of the need to consider a site's look and feel:

blather.newdream.net/t/twinkies.html

This Web site displays the author's poetry. A simple display directs the user to the site's content and readily identifies update information. Grammatical errors are attributed to artistic license.

Additional Information

To see more about evaluating Web sites, check out Thinking Critically about World Web Resources by Esther Grassian at UCLA College Library.

Another excellent guide is Evaluate Web Resources from the Wolfgram Memorial Library at Widener University, as is Using the Web for Research from University of Maryland University College.