Hiram College Library Evaluating Web Sites

 
 

Introduction The Internet, "they" say, is the super-fast information highway.   Search engines and subject guides are the road maps and highway signs that help get us where we need to go.  And once we arrive, quickly and easily, we will find good information.  After all, it's on the Internet and everything on the Internet is good information.  Unfortunately, it is too easy to get lost on this information highway and the information itself is often more like an infomercial than a truly factual site.   It is important that you, the user, evaluate Web sites before using them.  Researchers have always needed to evaluate the information sources they were using.   In the print world of books and periodicals in a library, however, there were some built-in safeguards as to the quality of the sources.  The editorial process usually, although not always, insured a certain level of quality.  The researcher could easily identify the author and the publisher.  Libraries also exercised some quality control by their selection of which materials to include in their collections.  Unfortunately, all information on the Web tends to look equal in quality.  But, there is no quality control.  Anyone can publish a Web page on just about any subject.   There is no editorial control or selection process.  Many of the easy clues (like author and publisher) tend to disappear or be obscured on the Web.   Nonetheless, several traditional evaluation criteria can be used for evaluating Web sites.  At the same time, you should take advantage of sites such as Britannica Online that recommend good Web sites (for more such sites see the library's Searching the Internet page).  You can also use reviews online from publications such as Library Journal or College and Research Libraries News, which publishes Internet Reviews (which review and evaluate Web sites) and Internet Resources (which list good sites by topic)

 
 

Authority Authority basically asks about the author, publisher, or producer and their qualifications.  Who is the author, publisher, or producer of the Web page?  What are his, her, or its qualifications on the subject covered by the page?  Can you contact the author, publisher, producer?  At the very least there should be an email connection, although an address and telephone number can also be useful.  Is there a corporate sponsor or a company providing computer space for this Web site?  What is the sponsor's relationship with the Web page producer?  Is the page copyrighted?  Is there a fee to use it?  Generally, you get what you pay for.  Almost all of the databases the Library subscribes to are copyrighted and require a subscription fee.   As a result access and use is limited to those who have paid.

 
 

Content Content may be the most important part since it asks about the information found on the page.  Questions can be grouped into several categories: accuracy, objectivity, currency, and coverage.  Accuracy  Is the text grammatically correct and without typos?  How has the information on the page been verified?  Are there "footnotes" or links to the sources?  Are the sources even cited?  Who, if anyone, is responsible for the accuracy of the page?    Objectivity  Is it clear what is opinion and what is fact?  Is the page free of advertising?   If advertising is there, is it clear where the advertising ends and the information begins?    Currency  Is there a date on the page saying when it was last updated?  Is that a recent or very old date?  Is there any indication someone is updating the page?  If there is statistical data on the page is it clearly labeled and dated?    Coverage  Is the page completed or still under construction?  Is it being updated regularly?  Can you even tell?  Is there an equivalent available in print?  Is the online an exact match or does it omit certain items (Contemporary Literary Criticism Select, for example, does not have all of the excerpted essays available in the print editions)?  Is the page here simply because the information is out of copyright collection?  Years ago there was a famous instance of a Periodic Table of the Elements being put online that had far fewer than the current list.  Is the coverage in-depth or just a brief summary?

 
 

Purpose Purpose basically asks Why is this page here?  Who is the intented audience?   Is it appropriate to your research?  What are the goals of the Web page?  If the page is produced to sway opinion, are the biases and goals of the organization or author clear?

 
 

Tips and Hints Here are some other things to keep in mind as you look at Web pages.  Linked sites are not always of the same quality as the site that "recommended" them.  Remember to evaluate each site separately.  Linked sites may not always be the best available.  The originating site may no longer be updated and, therefore, misses a newer, better site.  Or it may have fit the needs of the originating sites producer, but not be quite what you need.  Does use of the site require additional software of any kind?  You can often learn more about the author and/or producer by "parsing" the URL.  Just keep shortening the URL from slash to slash.  Sites in the United States have a three letter abbreviation at the end of the basic URL that can help you identify the type of organization owning the server where the site is located:  .gov is for U.S. government sites, .org for non-profit organizations, .com for commercial sites, and .edu for educational institutions.  URLs for foreign servers end with a two-digit abbreviation for the countery where the server is located..

 
 

Other Sites for Evaluating Internet Resources The following sites will provide additional information on evaluating Internet information and resources.  For general background, you should read Tina Kelley's article "Whales in the Minnesota River?" from the March 4, 1999 issue of the New York Times. Note: The above link is to the New York Times site, which, while free, may require you to register to retrieve the articles.  If you prefer not to do that, you can retreive the article through a search in LexisNexis Academic Universe (off-campus Hiram users, click here)   ICYouSee Guide to Critical Thinking About What You See on the Web - A superb, well-designed site from the Ithaca College Library.  The site offers lots of tips and questions to ask, plus links to other evaluation sites, pages for you to practice evaluating, and other pop quizzes. Evaluating Web Resources - Produced by two librarians at Widener University, this excellent site includes slides from a presentation the library routinely does in classes. Thinking Critically About World Wide Web Resources - Good site for learning how to think critically about what you find on the Web. Thinking Critically About Discipline-Based World Wide Web Resources - By the same group as the above site, this one adds additional questions to ask about subject-specific sites. How to Critically Analyze Information Sources - Produced by two librarians from Cornell (one an award-winning library instruction librarian) on how to analyze information sources regardless of format. Evaluating Information Found on the Internet - Produced by the library at Johns Hopkins University, this is a good, basic site with lots of links to additional sites. Ten C's for Evaluating Internet Resources - A quick guide to ten criteria to use for evaluating information on the Internet.  Yes, all ten begin with the letter C: Content, Credibility, Critical Thinking, Copyright, Citation, Continuity, Censourship, Connectivity, Comparability, Context. Evaluating Internet Research Sources - An interesting site on evaluating both print and Internet resources. Evaluating Internet Resources - Produced by the library at SUNY - Albany, this is a good general site. Tips for Evaluating a World Wide Web Search - Looks at how to evaluate not just a specific site but the search you did to find that site.  Some of the tips are specific to the University of Florida but still a useful site. Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators: Critical Evaluation Information - Created by the Technology Coordinator for the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District, this site is designed for teachers.  Part of a larger guide for teachers to the internet, including a list of recommended sites by topic.

 
 

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Last Updated March 18, 2002
Please send comments, suggestions, and corrections to David Everett at everettdd@hiram.edu