Internet Sources: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Evaluating Websites.
Evaluating Websites
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Evaluating Web Pages education commercial government
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Is that website true or false?
Transcript of Evaluating Websites
Evaluating Web Pages
education
commercial
government
Web Evaluation Train your eye to find what you need to know about a
particular web page.
Think critically, even suspiciously, by asking a series of questions that will let you know if the site can be trusted.
O Look at URL and domain
O Scan the perimeter of page
O Look for indicators of quality
O What do others say?
O Does it all add up?
WEB PAGE EVALUATION CHECKLIST
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/EvalWorksheet.p
df
URL & Domain
URL = Uniform Resource Locator address that defines the route to a file on the Web
or any other Internet facility
Domain = Names that identify the type of organization operating the Internet Server. located after the .dot in URL
Examine the URL
Before you click and search
e.g. .http://www.fcps.edu/MarshallHS/
Look for a personal name, e.g. jbarker following a tilde (~), a percent sign (%), or the words “users,” “members,” or “people.”
What type of domain does it come from? educational, nonprofit, commercial, government. Is it published by an entity that makes sense? Who published the page? [backspace to the end of the domain] e.g.
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html l Is the page dated? What are the author’s credentials on this subject?
.org = nonprofit organization Advocacy
perhaps trying to influence public opinion or promote a cause
.edu = educational organization .edu, .org, .gov provide factual information
.com = commercial (for profit) perhaps trying to promote a product or service
News: .com provide information about local, regional, national, or international news
.gov, .mil, .us (or other country code*) = governmental *“ca” Canada; “.es” Spain; “.uk” Great Britain; “.fr” France; “.de” Germany
.
Identify who is sponsoring
the site: Common Domains
.net = For networks; usually reserved for organizations such as Internet service providers
Entertainment: .org, .com … Museums could have: .org, edu, .gov Personal: .com, .edu
fulfill a variety of reasons for an individual
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_top-
level_domains
Other domains
WhoIs
Who is responsible for creating and
administering and managing the content of
the site:
O URL
http://www.networksolutions.com/who
is/index.jsp
Questions
O Why was the page put on the web? O Inform, persuade, sell, share, disclose?
O Might it be ironic, satire, malicious, or a parody? O Tone of page, exaggerated, outrageous,
overblown, arguing a viewpoint with examples that suggest what is argued is not possible?
O Is the page presenting biased information? Misinformation? Propaganda?
Web Hoaxes, Scams, Misinformation, and Hate sites
O Watch for statements that go against common sense.
O Check for words that are made up or nonsensical.
O Watch for images that look like they’ve been altered.
O Look for exaggeration in the text.
O Watch for sites that look official, but are not.
Web Hoaxes, Scams, Misinformation, and Hate sites
Always check credible, reliable, and objective sources for health and medical advice and information. E.g. check with your doctor, medical (peer reviewed) journals.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc.gov
QuackWatch
http://www.quackwatch.org/wgsearch.html
Allegedly
O Best Buy is distributing free $1,000 gift cards to users who click an online link.
O Halloween 2012 has been designated “national Kill a Pitbull Day”
O The Make-a-Wish Foundation will donate 7 cents per e-mail towards the care of 21-year-old Bryan Warner, who is dying of lung cancer and a brain tumor.
O A tooth left in a glass of Coca-Cola will dissolve overnight.
O Accounts warn of death and disease caused by rat urine on soda cans.
O Michael Jackson’s phone number was contained in the Universal Product Code (UPC) number used on the “Thriller” album cover.
AND
Plagiarism: How to Avoid It
Citations: How to Make Sense of It
O OWL Purdue Online
Writing Lab
Keep it consistent
EZ PZ
O The Landmarks Citation Machine
makes citing your sources easy. No
reason not to cite.
Why Take Notes? I’ll Remember That
Cornell Note-Taking
could help you
I Saved the Best for Last
O George C. Marshall High School
Library Media Center website
