Evaluating websites edit
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Evaluating Websites
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Evaluating Websites
Adapted from Joyce Valenza’s “Is That Site Good Enough to Cite?”
It can be confusing
There are billions of websites available Many of them are not worth your time and
have no place in your bibliographies Sometimes it’s hard to tell the good from
the bad Often, people will try very hard to make their
website look good when it isn’t It’s your job as a researcher to look for
quality
Adapted from Joyce Valenza’s “Is That Site Good Enough to Cite?”
Think of CARDS
Credibility/Authority
Accuracy
Reliability
Date
Sources Behind the Text
Adapted from Joyce Valenza’s “Is That Site Good Enough to Cite?”
Credibility/Authority
Who is the author?
Adapted from Joyce Valenza’s “Is That Site Good Enough to Cite?”
But What If I Can’t Find Any Author Information?
Look for credibility clues! Words and phrases to look for:
About Us, Who Am I, FAQs, For More, Company Information, Profiles, Our Staff, Home
Adapted from Joyce Valenza’s “Is That Site Good Enough to Cite?”
Find the URL root
The URL is the internet site’s web address Delete characters in the address line up to the next
slash mark to see if a main page offers more information about who is responsible for publishing the page you are interested in.
Go from http://www.statecollege.edu/history/middleages/cha
ucer/smith.htm http://www.statecollege.edu/history/middleages/cha
ucer http://www.statecollege.edu/history/middleages http://www.statecollege.edu/history http://www.statecollege.edu
Adapted from Joyce Valenza’s “Is That Site Good Enough to Cite?”
Accuracy
Adapted from Joyce Valenza’s “Is That Site Good Enough to Cite?”
Reliability
Understanding bias is important.
Adapted from Joyce Valenza’s “Is That Site Good Enough to Cite?”
Date
Adapted from Joyce Valenza’s “Is That Site Good Enough to Cite?”
Sources Behind the Text
Did the author document his or her sources? Did the author use reliable, credible sources? Where are those sources from? Popular,
scholarly?
What kind of links did the author choose? Are the hyperlinks reliable, valuable? Do the
links work?
Adapted from Joyce Valenza’s “Is That Site Good Enough to Cite?”
URLs as a Clue to Content
.com Commercial site (vary
in their credibility) .gov
U.S. government site .org
Organization, often non-profit. Some have strong bias and agendas.
.edu School or university
site (Is it k-12? By a student? By a scholar?)
.net Networked service
provider. Internet administrative site.
.name Individual internet
user .biz
A business ~
Personal site
Adapted from Joyce Valenza’s “Is That Site Good Enough to Cite?”
What Do These URLs Reveal About These Sites?
http://personal.statecollege.edu/~ejv114/ http://www.fi.edu/wright/index.html http://www.house.gov/house/
Legproc.html http://aolmembers.com/joyciev328/
civalwarsong
Adapted from Joyce Valenza’s “Is That Site Good Enough to Cite?”
Remember, the Web is Not Your Only Choice!
Did you use print resources? Did you search subscription
databases?
Adapted from Joyce Valenza’s “Is That Site Good Enough to Cite?”
Why Should You Care About All This?
http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/ Evaluation is ridiculously important. It
isn’t just about the internet. Just as you evaluate your sources, your
teacher will evaluate your work based on the quality of the sources you select.
Evaluate carefully. Don’t settle for good enough! You can find better!
Evaluation is important! Be picky!
Adapted from Joyce Valenza’s “Is That Site Good Enough to Cite?”
In Class Assignment
Working collaboratively, find a website that supports your research topic.
Fill out your Evaluating a Website worksheet for your chosen website. Fill out as much information as possible. You will be handing this in.
Adapted from Joyce Valenza’s “Is That Site Good Enough to Cite?”
Works Cited
Beck, Susan. “Evaluation Criteria.” The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: Or, Why It’s a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Sources. 3 Apr. 2008. NMSU Lib. 20 Oct. 2008 <http://lib.nmsu.edu/ instruction/ evalcrit.html>.
Valenza, Joyce. “Is That Site Good Enough to Cite?” Springfield Township School District. 20 Oct. 2008 <http://www.sdst.org/ shs/ library/ powerpoint/ evaluation.ppt>.
