lesson on evaluating web resources

1. QUESTION AUTHORITY Evaluating Internet Resources

2. You need information… for a research project what to feed your new pet which candidate to vote for how to get a driver’s license about a disease afflicting someone in your family the best car for the money what kind of job you want and how to get it how to fix something about a place you want to visit who invented ice cream?

4. But when you visit a web site, you must do the work of all those experts to decide whether to use the information

5. You won’t always have a parent or a teacher or a librarian to tell you whether a site is good. You must learn how to use your judgment.

6. What makes a web site good?

7. Accuracy

8. Information matches the facts in other sources No factual errors, grammar mistakes or typos Sources are cited Evaluate a site

9. Authority

10. Author is identified & contact info given Author is an expert Reputable organization/sponsor Writing style & tone match the material Evaluate a site

11. Break down URL for clues: http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Acne/default.asp protocol://hostorganization.domain/filepath/code Erase from the right to get to host Domain isn’t always reliable

12. Bias

13. Purpose of site or audience is clear: inform/entertain/advocate/ change opinion/promote/sell Minimum of pop-ups & ads Fact vs. opinion Evaluate a site

14. Currency

15. Information is recent & frequently updated Includes new (unique) information Internal & external links are working Evaluate a site

16. Coverage

17. Topic is covered in detail Information is not missing Too much vs. not enough information Evaluate a site

18. Relevance

19. Information answers your questions Format is useful Reading level is appropriate Intended audience matches your purpose Evaluate a site

20. Sources: Beck, Susan. “The Good, the bad & the ugly: Or, why it’s a good idea to evaluate web sources.” 1997. http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html Engle, Michael. “Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools.” 2009. http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webeval.html Finkle, Dagmar. NJASL Conference Web Evaluation Presentation. 2009. http://web.me.com/dfinkle2/Message/NJASL.html UC Berkeley Library. “Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask.” 2009. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html Presentation created by Leigh Woznick, 2009.