1. EVALUATING WEBSITES
RIO HONDO COLLEGE
Library
Instruction
Fall 2012
Adele Enright

2. ABOUT DOMAIN NAMES
Purpose State or Country of Origin
 .com - commercial  .uk
 .org – nonprofit entities  .ca
 .gov – government  .ca.us
agencies
 .ca.gov
 .edu – educational (www.dmv.ca.gov)
institutions
1

3. UNDERSTANDING THE URL
http://www.stanford.edu/~ccarson/articles/am_left.h
tm
 http:// is the protocol or access method
 www.stanford.edu is the domain or host name
 .eduis the top level domain
 ~ccarson/articles/am_left.htm is the directory path
folder on the domain computer
2

4. EVALUATION CRITERIA
Authorship – Do the authors have authority on
the topic? .com, .org, .gov, .edu?
Currency – Is this site out of date for your
topic?
Accuracy – Works cited? Does the
information fit with what you know?
Purpose – Why was the site created?
3

5. WHO IS THE AUTHOR?
 Look for an “About Us” link on the page.
 Is it a personal page? Check for a tilde (~) in the URL.
 If you can’t figure out who is responsible for the page, try
truncating the URL:
http://www.stanford.edu/~ccarson/articles/am_left.htm
4

6. STILL NOT SURE?
Try Googling the author’s name.
Clayborne Carson
5

7. EVALUATION STARTS ON RESULTS PAGE
Let’s look at Google:
www.google.com
6

8. LET’S PRACTICE
Carefully read the
following question and
then examine the two
websites to see which
would be the better
choice.
7

9. WHICH SITE WOULD YOU USE?
You are writing a research paper about theologian Dietrich
Bonhoeffer, who was executed by the Nazis for his opposition
to Hitler. Which of the following sources would be a better
place to get an overview of his life and work?
A. Bonhoeffer
www.pbs.org/bonhoeffer
B. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/bonhoeffer
C. Both choices are equally good.
D. Neither choice appears reliable.
8

10. WHICH SITE WOULD YOU USE?
You are writing a research paper about the collapse of the
Tacoma Narrows Bridge for a history class. Which site
provides better information about bridge aerodynamics
for you and your audience?
A. Computational Bridge Aerodynamics
www.bridgeaerodynamicslab.us/index.htm
B. Mark Ketchum’s Bridge Aerodynamics Page
www.ketchum.org/wind.html
C. Both choices are equally good.
D. Neither choice appears reliable.
9

11. WHICH SITE WOULD YOU USE?
You are writing a research paper on Sojourner Truth and want to
find verifiable biographical information about her. Which of
the following sources would be the better choice?
A. Sojourner Truth – Society for The Study of American
Women Writers
http://www.lehigh.edu/~dek7/SSAWW/writTruthBio.htm
B. Sojourner Truth – African American Historical Figure
http://www.brightmoments.com/blackhistory/nsotrue.html
C. Both choices are equally good.
D. Neither choice appears reliable.
10

12. WHICH SITE WOULD YOU USE?
You are writing an essay exploring the life and work of Chinua
Achebe and want to learn more about Achebe’s views. Which
of the following sources would be the better choice?
A. Chinua Achebe
www.kirjasto.sci.fi/achebe.htm
B. The Failure Interview: Chinua Achebe by Jason Zasky
failuremag.com/index.php/feature/article/chinua_achebe
C. Both choices are equally good.
D. Neither choice appears reliable.
11

13. WHICH SITE WOULD YOU USE?
You are writing an essay about the health aspects of choosing a
vegetarian diet. Which of the following sources would be a
better place to get objective scientific information?
A. Meat vs. Vegetarian Diet
http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/meat -vs-vegetarian-
diet-your-best/
B. Vegetarianism in a Nutshell: Health
www.peta.org/living/vegetarian -living/vegetarianism-in-a-
nutshell-health.aspx
C. Both choices are equally good.
D. Neither choice appears reliable.
12

14. WHICH SITE WOULD YOU USE?
You are writing a research paper exploring the pros and cons of
using “marriage promotion” as a means to decrease pover ty
and improve families’ well -being. Which source below would
be a more reliable source of statistics? Be prepared to
explain your reasoning.
A. The Heritage Foundation
www.heritage.org/Research/Family/cda0306.cfm
B. The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study
www.fragilefamilies.princeton.edu/
C. Both choices are equally good.
D. Neither choice appears reliable.
13

15. WHICH SITE WOULD YOU USE?
You are writing a research paper exploring the life of
Christopher Columbus. Examine both sites and decide which
site is more credible and authoritative.
A. Explorers A to Z
http://allaboutexplorers.com/explorers/columbus
B. Florida Natural History Museum – Caribbean Archaeology
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/caribarch/columbus.htm
C. Both choices are equally good.
D. Neither choice appears reliable.
14

16. WHICH SITE WOULD YOU USE?
You are thinking about buying a new cell phone. You would like
to read what some reviews about cell phones. Which web site
would you use?
A. Center for Consumer Freedom
http://www.consumerfreedom.com
B. Consumer Reports
http://www.consumerreports.org
C. Both choices are equally good.
D. Neither choice appears reliable.
15

17. WHICH SITE WOULD YOU USE?
You are writing a paper about the use and abuse of pesticides.
Which web site would you use?
A . The Ef fects of Pesticides from the Global Healing Center
http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/effects -of-
pesticides.html
B. Pesticides in Fish and Shellfish from the Environmental
Defense Fund
http://apps.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=16263
C. Both choices are equally good.
D. Neither choice appears reliable.
16

18. WHICH SITE WOULD YOU USE?
Compare these two websites and determine their purpose,
exper tise (authority), and credibility.
A . Factcheck.org
http://www.factcheck.org
B.JustFacts.com
http://www.justfacts.com
C. Both choices are equally good.
D. Neither choice appears reliable.
17

19. WHICH SITE WOULD YOU USE?
Compare these two websites and determine their purpose,
exper tise (authority), and credibility.
A. Chiropractic: An Introduction from the National Center for
Complementar y and Alternative Medicine
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/chiropractic/introduction.htm
B. Chiropractic Quick Facts from the International
Chiropractors Association
http://www.chiropractic.org/?p=chiroinfo/main
C. Both choices are equally good.
D. Neither choice appears reliable.
18

20. WHICH SITE WOULD YOU USE?
Compare these two websites and determine their purpose,
exper tise (authority), and credibility. Which one would you use?
A. Use of Drugs in Farm Animals: Benefits and Risks
http://books.nap.edu/openbook .php?record_id=5137&page=R1
B. Antibiotic Residues Extremely Rare
http://olsonpr.com/2010/08/25/rare -antibiotic-residues-in-beef/
C. Both choices are equally good.
D. Neither choice appears reliable.
19

21. REVIEW OF EVALUATION CRITERIA
Authorship:
Do the authors have authority on the topic?
.com, .org, .gov, .edu?
Currency:
Is this site out of date for your topic?
Accuracy:
Works cited? Does the information fit with
what you know?
Purpose:
Why was the site created?
20

22. CREDITS
Thanks to Stephanie Wells, who
created the original PowerPoint
presentation upon which this one is
based.
21