Website+Evaluation

**Terminology**:
toc authority, accuracy, objectivity, coverage and currency, advocacy, informational, criteria, bias and “point of view”(POV)

Finding out who created a website
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Finding out who LINKS to a website In google type **link:www.website.com** (no space between the colon and the website name) Searching only college sources In google type **edu:keyword** (no space between the colon and the keyword)

Tutorial from Arcadia University []

**Evaluating a web site using the following criteria: Authority, Accuracy, Objectivity, Coverage and Currency**

 * **Authority:** Who are the authors of the Web page, or who is responsible for it? What gives them their authority or expertise to write?
 * **Accuracy:** Do you have good reason to believe that the information on the site is accurate? Are the facts documented?
 * **Objectivity:** What is the author's point of view? What is the purpose of the site?
 * **Currency:** When was the information on the page originally written? Has the site been kept up-to-date?
 * **Coverage:** Does this site address the topic you are researching? Is the information basic and cursory or detailed and scholarly? However complex the language might be, is the information substantial?

** Links to Sites/Pages Which Can Be Used to Discuss //Authority// and //Accuracy// **  [|OncoLink] (http://oncolink.upenn.edu)  [|Tobacco Control Archives] (http://www.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/index.html)  [|Asia Pacific Research Online] (http://www.ciolek.com)  [|The Onion] (http://www.theonion.com)  [|Dihydrogen Monoxide] (http://www.dhmo.org) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> [|United States Holocaust Memorial Museum] (http://www.ushmm.org) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> [|Institute for Historical Review] (http://www.ihr.org) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">[|Coal Cares]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Links to Sites/Pages Which Can Be Used to Discuss //Objectivity// ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> [|The National Right to Life Committee] (http://www.nrlc.org) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> [|NARAL (National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League)] (http://www.naral.org) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> [|Consumer Reports Online] (http://www.consumerreports.org) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> [|BeefNutrition.org] (http://www.beefnutrition.org)

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">**Links to Sites/Pages Which Can Be Used to Discuss //Currency// and //Coverage//** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|USA Today] ([|http://www.usatoday.com]) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|Roget's Thesaurus] ([]) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 Edition] ([]) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|CNN] ([|http://www.cnn.com]) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">[|CBC]

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">**Links to Sites/Pages Which Can Be Used to Discuss Additional Evaluation Challenges Presented by the Web**

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">**Marketing Oriented Web Pages (Blending Advertising and Entertainment or Information)** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|No Smoke Home Page] ([]) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|Melatonin Central] ([|http://www.melatonin.com]) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|The "Alternative" White House] ([|http://www.whitehouse.net]) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|The Official White House] ([|http://www.whitehouse.gov]) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|Chips Ahoy] ([|http://www.chipsahoy.com]) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|Joe Boxer] ([|http://www.joeboxer.com])

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">**Examples of Types of Web Pages**
<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">**Advocacy Web Pages** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|Physicians for Social Responsibility] ([|http://www.psr.org]) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|The National Anti-Vivisection Society] ([|http://www.navs.org]) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">**Business/Marketing Web Pages** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|Lands' End Direct Merchants] ([]) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|General Motors] ([|http://gm.com]) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">**Informational Web Pages** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|Environmental Protection Agency] ([|http://www.epa.gov]) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|OncoLink] ([|http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu]) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|Buddhist Studies WWW Virtual Library] ([]) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|Smithsonian Institution] ([|http://www.si.edu] <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">**News Web Pages** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|washingtonpost.com] ([|http://www.washingtonpost.com])  <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|Philadelphia Online] ([|http://www.phillynews.com])  <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|Wall Street Journal] ( [|http://www.wsj.com] )

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tutorials from Widener Library

 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Original Web Evaluation Materials]
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|What Web Search Engines Won't Find]
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|How to Recognize an Advocacy Web Page]
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|How to Recognize a Business/Marketing Web Page]
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|How to Recognize a News Web Page]
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|How to Recognize an Informational Web Page]
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|How to Recognize a Personal Web Page]
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Links to Examples of Various Concepts]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Web sites to look at and evaluate
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Google Jobs site] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**[|RYT Hospital - Genochoice]** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**[|All About Explorers]** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Coal Cares] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Endangered Species: The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Clones-R-Us] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|California’s Velcro Crop Under Challenge] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Google Technology] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Facts About Series] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Republic of Cascadia: Bureau of Sasquatch Affair]s <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|The Ova Prima Foundation] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Dangers of Dihydrogen Monoxide] [|The Ova Prima Foundation] [|Hetracil] [|Havidol] [|Male Pregnancy] [|The Museum of Jurassic Technology] [|Worm] [|Online Pregnancy Test] [|Bonsai Kittens] [|Music Fauns] [|The Institute of Delicious Whale Research] [|Save the Rennets] [|Floral Sculpture Clinic] [|Pets or Food] [|Petrol Direct] [|Baby cages] [|Telco Powered Products] [|Dehydrated water] [|Furnetics] [|Funky Shoes] [|Furnetics] [|Wild Ponies]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Web site evaluation assignments from John R. Henderson, Ithaca College Research Library
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Women and AIDs] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Martin Luther KIng Jr. and National Myths] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|The Mayan Calendar] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Eggs and Cholesterol] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Peak Oil] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Reliving the Sixties]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**How do you find out who publishes a website?**
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Go to **[|www.easywhois.com]** and enter the URL of the site you would like to research.

Resources: John R. Henderson, Reference Department, Ithaca College Library, Ithaca NY Wolfgram Memorial Library, Widener University, PA

[| Edit][| 0] 0 [| 17][|…] [|Short video on analyzing websites]

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 * Information Literacy Quiz**
 * Answers and follow up**

Online Tutorials

 * [|Original Web Evaluation Materials]
 * [|What Web Search Engines Won't Find]
 * [|How to Recognize an Advocacy Web Page]
 * [|How to Recognize a Business/Marketing Web Page]
 * [|How to Recognize a News Web Page]
 * [|How to Recognize an Informational Web Page]
 * [|How to Recognize a Personal Web Page]
 * [|Links to Examples of Various Concepts]

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Five Criteria for evaluating web page
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">s (take a look at the CLUES page for more info) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> **Accuracy**. If your page lists the author and institution that published the page and provides a way of contacting him/her <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> **Authority.** If your page lists the author credentials and its domain is preferred (.edu, .gov, .org, or .net) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> **Objectivity**. If your page provides accurate information with limited advertising and it is objective in presenting the information <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> **Currency**. If your page is current and updated regularly (as stated on the page) and the links (if any) are also up-to-date <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> **Coverage**. If you can view the information properly--not limited to fees, browser technology, or software requirement.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**How do you find out who publishes a website?** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Go to **[|www.easywhois.com]** and enter the URL of the site you would like to research.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**CREDIBILITY / AUTHORITY** ** Who is the author? ** What are his or her credentials? Education? Experience? Affiliation? Does the author’s experience really qualify him or her as an expert? 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 part of the 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, Tripod, Geocities?

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**__ Credibility clues __** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> ** Words and phrases to look for: ** ·//About us, Who Am I, FAQs, For More, Company Information, Profiles, Our Staff, Home//

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">__** E-mail the author **__ If you have no information other than an e-mail link, write a polite e-mail asking for more information.

__Do a **//link check//**__ · In <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Google] link:siteaddress · Your results will show which other sites have chosen to link to this page. If respectable institutions have linked to a site, that provides a clue about the site’s credibility. Does the site appear in major subject directories like Librarian’s Index to the Internet (lii.org)?

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**__ Truncation __** Delete characters in the address line up to the next slash mark to see if a main page offers more information about who is responsible for publishing the page you are interested in. Go from: · [] · [] · [] · [] · [|http://www.statecollege.edu]

**__If you have an author’s name but no further information about credentials,__** Search the name in quotation marks in a search engine or online database On the Web, include words like //profile//, //resume//, or //C.V.// (curriculum vitae--an academic resume) to narrow your name search You might also include the name of a college or association you can connect with the person Search the name in biographical sources on- and offline Ask your teacher-librarian for help

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif; text-align: left;">**ACCURACY** Can facts, statistics, or other information be verified through other sources? Based on your knowledge, does the information seem accurate? Is the information inconsistent with information you learned from other sources? Is the information second hand? Has it been altered? Do there appear to be errors on the page (spelling, grammar, facts)?

__ Websites to analyze __

 * [|RYT Hospital - Genochoice] **

http://www.allaboutexplorers.com
 * All About Explorers **

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 * Coal Cares**


 * The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus:** @http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus.html

· Clones-R-Us <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[]

· California’s Velcro Crop Under Challenge · <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> []

· Facts About Series · []

· Republic of Cascadia: Bureau of Sasquatch Affairs · <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> []

· Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division · <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> []

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|The Ova Prima Foundation]


 * Dihydrogen Monoxide:** http://www.dhmo.org


 * Dog Island Free Forever:** http://www.thedogisland.com


 * Feline Reactions to Bearded Men:** @http://improbable.com/airchives/classical/cat/cat.html


 * Martin Luther King:** http://www.martinlutherking.org


 * Stormfront:** http://www.stormfront.org


 * Victorian Robots:** @http://www.bigredhair.com/robots/index.html

More notes re Website Evaluation
** OBJECTIVITY OR RELIABILITY ** Does the source present a particular view or bias? Is the page affiliated with an organization that has a particular political or social agenda? Is the page selling a product? Can you find other material to offer balance so that you can see the bigger picture? Was the information found in a //paid placement// or //sponsored result// from the search engine? Information is seldom neutral. Sometimes a bias is useful for persuasive essays or debates. //Understanding bias is important//.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; text-align: center;">** RELEVANCE ** Does this information directly support my hypothesis/thesis or help to answer my question? Can I eliminate or ignore it because it simply doesn’t help me?

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; text-align: center;">** CURRENCY OR DATE ** When was this information created? When was it revised? Are these dates meaningful in terms of your information needs? Has the author of the page stopped maintaining it? (Be suspicious of undated material.)

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; text-align: center;">** SOURCES BEHIND THE TEXT ** Did the author bother to document his or her sources? use reliable, credible sources? Were those references popular, scholarly, reputable? Are those sources real? Have you or your librarian heard of or been able to verify them? Is the material reproduced (accurately) from another publication? What kind of links did the author choose? Are the hyperlinks reliable, valuable? Do the links work?

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; text-align: center;">** SCOPE AND PURPOSE ** Does this source address my hypothesis/thesis/question in a comprehensive or peripheral way? Is it a scholarly or popular treatment? Is it material I can read and understand? Is it too simple? Is it too challenging? Who is the intended audience? Why was this page created? To inform or explain? To persuade? To sell?

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This information was adapted from a Powerpoint presentation created by Joyce Valenza

Go to the[| November Learning] link for a full tutorial including info literacy quiz and list of websites to analyze

More tutorials
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 * Case Western Reserve University**

**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Produced by the Wolfgram Memorial Library, Widener University. (tutorial is dry but has great examples and really walks you through the issues) ** []

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13.3333px;">**Produced by the Teaching Library of the University of California, Berkeley.** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13.3333px;"> []

**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Sheridan Libraries, Johns Hopkins University ** [] <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13.3333px;">Prepared by Elizabeth E. Kirk

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Web analysis and critical thinking skills from Ithica College Library** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> []

How do we know if a website is reliable ?
=Table of Contents= Online Tutorials Five Criteria for evaluating web page

Websites to analyze

More notes re Website Evaluation

More tutorials How do we know if a website is reliable ? [|Quick and easy interactive tutorial (10 min)]

evaluating internet sources <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">how to spot a fake website <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> []

**Links to Sites/Pages Which Can Be Used to Discuss //Currency// and //Coverage//** [|USA Today] ([|http://www.usatoday.com]) [|Roget's Thesaurus] ([]) [|Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 Edition] ([]) [|CNN] ([|http://www.cnn.com]) [|CBC] **Links to Sites/Pages Which Can Be Used to Discuss Additional Evaluation Challenges Presented by the Web** **Marketing Oriented Web Pages (Blending Advertising and Entertainment or Information)** [|No Smoke Home Page] ([]) [|Melatonin Central] ([|http://www.melatonin.com]) [|The "Alternative" White House] ([|http://www.whitehouse.net]) [|The Official White House] ([|http://www.whitehouse.gov]) [|Chips Ahoy] ([|http://www.chipsahoy.com]) [|Joe Boxer] ([|http://www.joeboxer.com])

**Examples of the Various Types of Web Pages** **Advocacy Web Pages** [|Physicians for Social Responsibility] ([|http://www.psr.org]) [|The National Anti-Vivisection Society] ([|http://www.navs.org])

**Business/Marketing Web Pages** [|Lands' End Direct Merchants] ([]) [|General Motors] ([|http://gm.com])

**Informational Web Pages** [|Environmental Protection Agency] ([|http://www.epa.gov]) [|OncoLink] ([|http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu]) [|Buddhist Studies WWW Virtual Library] ([]) [|Smithsonian Institution] ([|http://www.si.edu]

**News Web Pages** [|washingtonpost.com] ([|http://www.washingtonpost.com]) [|Philadelphia Online] ([|http://www.phillynews.com]) [|Wall Street Journal] ( [|http://www.wsj.com] )