Not All Web Pages Are Created Equally

There are a Zillion Good Reasons to Evaluate

What To Consider

Authority Sponsor Currency Purpose Audience

Authority

• Is there an author? Is the author qualified? An expert?If not look for these clues:

Look for a header or footer showing affiliation. Look at the URL. http://www.fbi.gov Look at the domain. .edu, .com, .ac.uk, .org, .net

Remember:Anyone can publish anything on the web. WikiWebs, such as: WikipediaUse our subscription database:

ed1stop for Grolier’s EncyclopediaUsername: soquel_stuPassword: student

Sponsor

Is there a sponsoring institution such as a company, government agency, university?

Remember: A sponsor may show bias. Information on the web page may be presented differently

depending on the institution that is sponsoring the page.

Who sponsors this page?http://www.martinlutherking.org/

And now a word from our sponsor…

Currency

Is the page dated? If so, when was the last update? How current are the links? Have some expired or moved?

Remember:If current information is needed it is important to find out

when a web page was last updated.

Purpose

What appears to be the purpose for this information? to inform? To explain? To persuade? To advertise or sell?

Intended Audience

Who is the intended audience? School children? Teens? Adults? Volleyball players? People interested in buying a computer?

Look for credibility clues!

When there is no author: Words and phrases to look for:

About us, Who Am I, FAQ’s E-mail

If you have no information other than an e-mail link, write a polite e-mail asking for more information.

Do a link check (or what do other think?) In Google or AltaVista type:

link:https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html Your results will show which other sites have chosen to link to this

page. If respectable institutions have linked to a site, that provides a clue about the site’s credibility.

Truncate the URL

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/

URLs as clues to content

.com=commercial sites (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?)

.store=retail business .int=international institution

.ac=educational institution (like .edu)

.mil=U.S. military site .net=networked service

provider, Internet administrative site

.museum=museum .name=individual Internet

user .biz=a business .pro=professional’s site ~=personal site

Compare two sites

Which of these would be better to use for a research paper on CLONING?

http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/home.shtml

http://www.genochoice.com/

Remember, the free Web is not your only choice.

Did you use print sources? Did you search subscription databases? Did you check with your teacher-librarian

for advice?

Just as you evaluate your sources . . .

Your teacher will evaluate your work based on the quality of the sources you select.

ASK YOURSELF: Is this site good enough to cite?

Use KnightCite to help you create your Works Cited or Bibliography

Quality always counts!

Hoax Sites – Don’t Be Fooled

Golden Gate Tunnel The True but Little Known Facts about

Women and Aids, with documentation National Geographic Article Trick Photos Martin Luther King, Jr. HOAX SITES ARE FUN