To evaluate a web page look for:

• Purpose:
  Why was the page created?
  • Informs
  • Entertains
  • Advertisement/sells a product or service (business/marketing)
  • Influences/persuades views, beliefs, elections (advocacy)
  • Provides up-to-the-moment news
  • Personal enjoyment

• Sponsor/Owner:
  Where is the page located? Who is the Internet Service Provider (ISP)?
  • Government agency: federal, state, city, county (address frequently includes .gov)
  • Educational: University, college, high school (address frequently includes .edu)
  • Business/Company (address frequently includes .com or .net or .org)
  • Association or Organization: Non-profit, Professional, Trade, Entertainment (address frequently includes .org)
  • News bureau: television, newspaper, radio (address frequently includes .com)
  • Personal/Individual Web Page (address could include .com, .edu, .org, .net)
  • PLEASE NOTE: Due to the hundreds of new web sites added daily, this identification system is not foolproof.
  "Backtracking:"
  A method to reveal the "home" or base organization of a file. Begin by eliminating (deleting) files and/or folders one at a time, going from right to left. After deleting each section, try to connect to the site. This can take you to the sponsoring organization and might also uncover related sites and folders.

Organization and Content:

• Is the page organized and focused?
• Is it well designed?  User friendly?
• Is the text well written?
• Are the links relevant and appropriate?
• Are the links reviewed or annotated?

• Currency:(Date of Production or Revisions)
  • When was the web page produced?
  • When was it last revised? (Often located at the bottom of the page.)
  • How up-to-date are the links?
  • Are the links still active?

   

• Authority/author
  • Who is responsible for the page?
  • Is the author an expert in this field? Education/credentials?
  • What else has he/she written or produced?
  • Does the author provide an e-mail address?
  • How accurate is the provided information? Is a bias evident?
  Very important:
  Does the web page have an identifiable, respectable author and/or sponsor? If not, the page must be used with caution. Vague ownership frequently means that it is not from a reliable or credible research source. The web has no editorial controls. Anyone with access to the Internet can call themselves a writer, author or expert in their field.

• Bias of the Author or Sponsor -
  Ask yourself, is the author or sponsor:
  • left/liberal?
  • right/conservative?
  • center?
  • a political action (PAC) group or association?
  • a business?
  • a religious affiliation?

• Usefulness -
  Does it:
  • support an argument?
  • refute an argument?
  • give examples (survey results, primary research findings, case studies, incidents)?
  • provide "wrong" information that can be challenged or disagreed with productively?

• What is it?
  • a journal article; accessed either directly on the web or through an index or other type of database (for example, articles found full text on Academic Universe and ABI/Inform)
  • government source; using PDF format/software to reproduce the print version's appearance, page by page
  • text of a presentation given at a workshop or conference
  • creative writing (poem, novel, short story)
  • e-mail message
  • listserv or usenet posting
  • school project etc.(be sure to note the grade level of the students)

• Audience -
  Who is the page for:
  • general readers,
  • students (elementary, high school, college, graduate),
  • specialists or professionals,
  • researchers or scholars?

• Coverage:
  Does the page cover the topic comprehensively, partially or is it an overview?

• Illustrations:
  Are the graphics clear in intent, relevant and professional looking? Do the graphics add to or enhance the content? Too large, too small? Do they load quickly?

• Security:
  Are security and/or encryption systems employed when necessary?

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