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Evaluating Web Sites
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Just like any source of information — newspaper articles, radio and TV broadcasts, and even textbooks — web sites vary in quality. You simply can't believe everything you read! To evaluate a web site, you need to use the same critical thinking skills that you would employ to evaluate any source of information. There is no mystery to the process of evaluation: you need to consider who wrote it and when, and you must give thought to its accuracy and objectivity.

The process of evaluating web sites has been well-documented right on the web. For example, check out the site provided at a library at New Mexico State University: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; or, Why it's a good idea to evaluate web sources. Here are the criteria that this site uses:

Accuracy
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg:: ::/sites/dl/free/0072410159/51612/red_check.jpg','popWin', 'width=62,height=82,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (0.0K)</a> Is the information reliable and error-free?
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg:: ::/sites/dl/free/0072410159/51612/red_check.jpg','popWin', 'width=62,height=82,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (0.0K)</a> Is there an editor or someone who verifies/checks the information?

Authority
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg:: ::/sites/dl/free/0072410159/51612/red_check.jpg','popWin', 'width=62,height=82,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (0.0K)</a> Is there an author? Is the page signed?
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg:: ::/sites/dl/free/0072410159/51612/red_check.jpg','popWin', 'width=62,height=82,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (0.0K)</a> Is the author qualified? An expert? Who is the sponsor?
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg:: ::/sites/dl/free/0072410159/51612/red_check.jpg','popWin', 'width=62,height=82,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (0.0K)</a> Is the sponsor of the page reputable? How reputable?
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg:: ::/sites/dl/free/0072410159/51612/red_check.jpg','popWin', 'width=62,height=82,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (0.0K)</a> Is there a link to information about the author or the sponsor?
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg:: ::/sites/dl/free/0072410159/51612/red_check.jpg','popWin', 'width=62,height=82,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (0.0K)</a> If the page includes neither a signature nor indicates a sponsor, is there any other way to determine its origin?

Objectivity/Bias
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg:: ::/sites/dl/free/0072410159/51612/red_check.jpg','popWin', 'width=62,height=82,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (0.0K)</a> Does the information show a minimum of bias?
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg:: ::/sites/dl/free/0072410159/51612/red_check.jpg','popWin', 'width=62,height=82,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (0.0K)</a> Is the page designed to sway opinion?
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg:: ::/sites/dl/free/0072410159/51612/red_check.jpg','popWin', 'width=62,height=82,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (0.0K)</a> Is there any advertising on the page?

Currency
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg:: ::/sites/dl/free/0072410159/51612/red_check.jpg','popWin', 'width=62,height=82,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (0.0K)</a> Is the page dated?
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg:: ::/sites/dl/free/0072410159/51612/red_check.jpg','popWin', 'width=62,height=82,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (0.0K)</a> If so, when was the last update?
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg:: ::/sites/dl/free/0072410159/51612/red_check.jpg','popWin', 'width=62,height=82,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (0.0K)</a> How current are the links? Have some expired or moved?

Coverage
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg:: ::/sites/dl/free/0072410159/51612/red_check.jpg','popWin', 'width=62,height=82,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (0.0K)</a> What topics are covered?
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg:: ::/sites/dl/free/0072410159/51612/red_check.jpg','popWin', 'width=62,height=82,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (0.0K)</a> What does this page offer that is not found elsewhere?
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg:: ::/sites/dl/free/0072410159/51612/red_check.jpg','popWin', 'width=62,height=82,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (0.0K)</a> What is its intrinsic value?
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg:: ::/sites/dl/free/0072410159/51612/red_check.jpg','popWin', 'width=62,height=82,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (0.0K)</a> How in-depth is the material?

A bibliography for evaluating web sites also is available.





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