WEBSITE EVALUATION
The Internet is a great place to search for information as long as you evaluate each website you wish to use in assignments. Ask yourself these questions when evaluating a website.
1. Who is responsible for the content?
This is a very important question to answer. Who is the author of the site? What are their credentials? Do an internet search of the author to make sure that person is a reputable source.
2. Is the domain appropriate for the content?
Think about the domain and the content.
.com = business
.org = organization or non profit organization
.edu = a school
.gov = a government website
personal website?
country specific (http://www.bbc.com/news/uk)
.com = business
.org = organization or non profit organization
.edu = a school
.gov = a government website
personal website?
country specific (http://www.bbc.com/news/uk)
4. Is the page dated?
- Is the date / currency important to the type of information I need?
5. What is the purpose of the website?
- personal webpage
- company or organization website
- educational information
- scholarly research - Google Scholar
- entertainment - Buzzfeed, Mental Floss
- sell something
- forum for ideas, opinions, or points of view - Odyssey
6.WHAT DOES THIS WEBSITE PROVIDE?
- balanced, objective, or factual information?
- biased, subjective, or opinionated statements?
- both objective and subjective information?
7. Is the site possibly ironic or a satire?
Could this be a hoax site or is the purpose of the site to be funny?
8. Is this a personal page or website?
Sometimes you can gather good information from a personal site but be careful! You must make sure the author is an expert in the field before you use the information. Would this be a credible source to use for research?
Created by the Mount Carmel Academy Library. Updated September 2018