Evaluating Websites Checklist

Go through this checklist when doing research online.  It can help you to determine whether or not a website would be worth using or if it may give you wrong information.

Purpose:

•      Is the site supposed to be educational or entertaining?
•      Is the site meant to be informational or promotional?

Audience:

•  What does the author assume the reader already knows about the topic of the site?  Is it basic?  Advanced?
• Would the site be most useful to the general reader, the enthusiast, or the professional?

Presentation of Website:

•     Do all the links work that are on the page?
•    Does the website design look professional? 

Authority (Author or Organization):

•    Is the author’s name and email address provided somewhere on the site?
•    Is the author an authority in the field, or just a commentator?
•  What are the author’s qualifications?
•  Does the author have an affiliation with a known institution or respected organization?
•  If the author has a list of links of interest, do the selections or annotations suggest that the author may have a bias or special interest?
•  Is there a link to the organization that sponsors or hosts the site?
•  Is the host a publisher, nationally known organization, government agency or company?
•  Check for Author or Organization biases on the subject

Dates Created and Last Modified:

•    Every Web site should provide the dates when it was created and last updated.
•  Check to make sure the information on the site is up-to-date.
•    If the site contains a complete account of all changes, check this page to see how often the site has been updated.

Accuracy of Information:

•  Examine many sources and compare them against each other.
• Check to see if the Web article has a complete list of works cited.
• Does the Web site offer new information, or repeat what the other sources state?
• Does the author base his or her argument on facts that are shown to be incorrect by reliable sources?
• Does this page present a new viewpoint on the topic, or just summarize other sources?
• Does the site have a lot of dead end links

Works Cited:

http://library.usm.maine.edu/research/researchguides/webeval.php?ID=0

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/eval.html

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