Evaluating Web Content

Top 5 Tips for Evaluating Web Sources

• Purpose: Is the purpose of the site clearly stated? Is it to inform, persuade, advertise or sell something? Who is the audience of the site?
• Authority: Is information about the author readily available? What are his/her credentials and organizational affiliation? Is the site a .gov, .edu, .org site or a .com site?
• Accuracy: Are sources of facts and statistics provided or is the content limited to the author's personal opinion? Are there typos, spelling mistakes, dead links, etc.?
• Currency/Timeliness: When was the site published or last updated? Is it out of date for your needs?
• Coverage: Is the topic explored in depth? Is there considerable content on the page? Are entire articles, tables, graphs or other items provided or does the site just provide a portion or excerpt from a larger work? Does the site point you to other useful sites?

Selected Sources of Web Evaluation Techniques

Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask
From UC Berkeley.

Evaluation of Information Sources
From the WWW Virtual Library, a list of numerous web sites about evaluating sources.

The Good, the Bad & The Ugly: or, Why It's a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Sources
From New Mexico State University, includes sample sites, criteria and suggestions for designing effective web assignments.

QuickStudy -- Library Research Guide Module 7: Evaluating Sources
This online tutorial module discusses some general guidelines for evaluating publications and then offers some particular tips for assessing the quality and usefulness of books, periodical articles, and web sites.

Using Primary Sources on the Web
A guide that discusses how to find, evaluate and use primary sources on the web, written by the Instruction & Research Services Committee of the Reference and User Service Association History Section in the American Library Association.