Evaluating WebsitesEvaluating WebsitesDo you trust everyone to Do you trust everyone to

tell you the truth?tell you the truth?

Osama bin Laden, Terrorist

1957-2011

Was one ofFBI’s 10

Most Wanted Fugitives

Reward:$52 million

WhoWho puts stuff on the puts stuff on the Web?Web?

Do you believe everythingyou see & hear?

I do! I do!

WHOOOO?WHOOOO?

•Selects•Edits•Approves•Reviews•Monitors

Content on the Internet?

Be suspicious of free info!Be suspicious of free info!Ask:Ask:

•Who?•What?•When?•Where?•Why?

The5 W’s

WhoWho??

Who is the author?

Authority?

Who? Authority

• Author/ group/ organization/ publisher/ sponsor responsible?

• Credentials/ qualifications? Expert?

• Look for links: Home, About, Background, Contact

•Google the name: “Homer Simpson”

•Truncate back the URL:

http://www.thesimpsons.com/characters

•Use www.whois.com or .net & enter URL

Click: Whois Lookup

WhatWhat??

What is the accuracy

of the site?

What? AccuracyYou should answer yes:•Does the info appear

accurate?

•Can you verify facts?

•Is the info scholarly?

•Is info documented with sources or links?

• Is/are the spelling/ grammar/ links correct?

• Is site linked to reputable sites? To check who links to this site:

Type in Google search box: link:paste URL Example:

link:http://www.fvza.org/index.html

WhenWhen??

When was the information

created?Currency?

WhenWhen? ? CurrencyCurrency• Is page dated? (no? – don’t use!)

• When was page created?

• When was page last updated or revised?

• Is any info out-of-date?

• Are links still active?• Does current date matter?

WhereWhere??

Where does the information come from?

URL – DomainURL – Domain??~ or % = personal page .gov = Government .mil = Military .edu = Education .org = Organization .com = Commercial .int = International .us, .uk = country codes

WhyWhy??

Why was the page created?

Is the purpose:Is the purpose:

•To inform?• To explain?• To persuade?• To sell?• To satirize?•To entertain?

Does the author:Does the author:•State his/her purpose?•Appear biased?•Distinguish fact from opinion?•Use excessive advertising?

http://www.buydehydratedwater.com/

CAUTIONCAUTION Never use information

you can’t verify!What about Wikipedia?

World Book Encyclopedia?Encyclopedia Britannica?

Never cite general encyclopedias like these when doing academic

research!

Citing InformationCiting Information• Database articles have citations!

• Son of Citation Machine• Easy Bib• NoodleTools Media Center has login info!

Whatever you use, you must format the citation yourself & double check it!