Evaluating Internet Sources

The information on the net ranges from awesome to awful. This page contains information you can use to both evaluate the information you find on the net and to make decisions about your own site

Purpose

Audience

• Consider the intended audience of the page, based on its content, tone and style
• Does this mesh with your needs?

Consider the Source

• Web search engines often amass vast results, from memos to scholarly documents
• Many of the resulting items will be peripheral or useless for your research

Source

• Author/producer is identifiable
• Author/producer has expertise on the subject as indicated on a credentials page. You may need to trace back in the URL (Internet address) to view a page in a higher directory with background information
• Sponsor/location of the site is appropriate to the material as shown in the URL
• Examples:
  • .edu for educational or research material
  • .gov for government resources
  • .com for commercial products or commercially-sponsored sites
• ~NAME in URL may mean a personal home page with no official sanction
• Mail-to link is offered for submission of questions or comments

Content

Accuracy

• Don't take the information presented at face value
• Web sites are rarely refereed or reviewed, as are scholarly journals and books
• Look for
  • point of view
  • evidence of bias
• Source of the information should be clearly stated, whether original or borrowed from elsewhere

Comprehensiveness

• Depth of information: determine if content covers a specific time period or aspect of the topic, or strives to be comprehensive
• Use additional print and electronic sources to complement the information provided

Currency

• Site has been updated recently, as reflected in the date on the page
• Material contained on the page is current

Links

• Links are relevant and appropriate
• Don't assume that the linked sites are the best available. Be sure to investigate additional sites on the topic

Style and Functionality

• Site is laid out clearly and logically with well organized subsections
• Writing style is appropriate for the intended audience
• Site is easy to navigate, including
  • Clearly labeled Back, Home, Go To Top icons/links
  • Internal indexing links on lengthy pages
• Links to remote sites all work
• Search capability is offered if the site is extensive

• At Mankuto State University the "Internet and the School Library Media Program" class section on Evaluationg Internet Based Information provides several articles on evaluating net information, additional criteria, some interesting sites to review and a checklist for evaluating sites.
• The University of Dayton Libraries lists evaluation criteria that you can apply to a resource that you have located on the Internet.
• The Bibliography on Evaluating Internet Resources was originally created to address the problems and issues related to teaching and using critical thinking skills to evaluate Internet resources. It contains an extensive list of both online and print resources for evaluating what you find on the net.