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Evaluating sources: Evaluating websites
Regardless where you locate your information, it is always important for you to decide if the source for your information is reputable and reliable. The Internet can be a tricky place to locate information because it can be difficult to immediately tell the bad sites from the good.
In order to evaluate websites, you need to consider a number of criteria including:
- the purpose of the site
- the authority of the author/editor
- currency
- relevance
- objectivity
- relevance
Purpose of the site
All sites are created with a purpose. Possible purposes include:
- Commercial: trying to sell something
- Informative: News sites, government pages
- Educational: Intended for students and teachers
- Entertainment: Fun
- Persuasive: Opinion sites, political and religious sites
- Personal: Personal pages and blogs
- Institutional: University or association sites
- Hoaxes: Scams - could be created for fun
Look at the domain:
- The domain can be found at the end of a main URL
- Domain names can give information about the type of site you are visiting.
- .edu = educational
- gc.ca = Canadian goverment
- .gov = US government
Other domains aren't as clear:
- anyone can make an .org, .com or .net site
- no rules for content which means you must evaluate the site
Authority
It is important to consider who made the web page. A good webpage is one that lists its author and cites information. If the author has not provided evidence for their information, then the information becomes suspicious. Even when a site lists an author and gives citations, it's a good idea to examine the information. Are the resources listed legitimate?
Ask:
- Can you find the author/editor?
- Do they have credentials?
- Do they have authority to speak on the topic?
- Are the sources cited?
- Contact information included?
- Does the web page have a sponsor?
Currency
Depending on your topic, currency can be very important (Science) or have lesser importance in your evaluation (History)
- Should have a date (usually near the bottom)
- Also look to see if the page has been updated or not. Look for "last updated"
- Look for supporting links - are they still active?
Relevance and Objectivity
Relevance and objectivity are two areas where it is helpful to compare the information you are finding with other sources to ensure you are getting the full picture of a topic. One source is not enough for most information needs.
- Is the information appropriate for my information need?
- Is the reading level appropriate?
- Is there bias in the content?
- Is the author paid or given incentives to write the information a certain way?