COBRA: The 5 W’s of Website Evaluation

Adapted by Kendra L. Allen from Diane Lauer's "Five W's of Website Evaluation"

www.dianelauer.com/fivewww/webeval.html

Currency (C): When was the site created, updated, or last worked on?

• Does the date this website was created appear on it somewhere?
• Can you tell when this information was last updated?
• Does it matter to you whether this information is outdated? Why?

Origin (O): Where does the information come from?

• Does the author let you know where the information came from? Does he/she have a bibliography?
• Does the bibliography appear to be accurate and trustworthy?
• Does the author include links to related websites you can use to continue your research?

Bias (B): What is the purpose of the site?

• Is this page mostly fact or mostly opinion?
• Do any of the facts appear out of context? Are they included to try to persuade you to think a certain way?
• Are there links to the organization sponsoring the page? Or, does this seem like a single person trying to tell his/her opinion?
• Is the page actually an advertisement disguised as information?

Relevancy (R): Why is the information helpful?

• Does this website give you helpful information? Or, should you keep looking?
• Is this new information to you? Is it something you haven’t yet read, heard, or discovered?
• Can you confirm the reliability of the information by finding similar information elsewhere from sources you trust?

Authority (A): Who wrote the pages and are they an expert on the topic?

• Can you tell who the author is? If not, what organization is sponsoring this website?
• Is the author/organization well-regarded in this field?
• Is there a place on the website where you can contact the author/organization?
• Can you find additional information about the author? Where he/she works? Biographical information?
• How did you get here? Did you link to this site from a site you trust?