On Campus : Bunn Library : Research Tools : Evaluating Webpages

WEBSITE EVALUATION & ANALYSIS

In addition to the information below, as a researcher you must use good judgment. Governmental, both United States and other nations (with a .gov or corresponding country domain), and educational (.edu) sites are credible sources for research. Well known National and International Governmental or Non Governmental Organizations (for example, the UN or the WHO) will also contain valuable information. Tip: It’s important to keep in mind that certain organizations have a certain perspective, for example a site sponsored by the Tobacco lobby may have a different perspective on smoking than say the World Health Organization. Understanding a site’s bias is important in evaluating the information contained within it.

When researching on the web, the researcher must be able to analyze each web site with a critical eye by answering the following questions about the site:

1. Site Ownership

Does with website have authorship? Who is it? Is it a company, an institution, or an individual? If it is an individual, is it a personal site, or is it affiliated with a company or institution? Always go to the bottom of the page to check for ownership, copyright, disclaimers, and copyright information. Pages without copyright and disclaimers have little no or integrity, and should not be used for research.

2. Domain Types

Knowing your domain types (.com, .org, .edu, etc.) is very important to web research. A .com and a .net are almost never used for research, for these are commercial sites.

2. a. The Tilde

Beware of the tilde (~). These appear in .edu sites. Sites with a tilde (~) in the URL most often are student sites (either college level or secondary school) and should be looked at with a skeptical eye. However, they can provide useful bibliographies for your research. In some cases, professors have sites with the tilde (~) in the URL, but these too should be looked at skeptically.

3. Site Currency

When was the last time this site was updated? This may not be stated on the page you are getting your information from. Always check on the root (or index) page of that site by deleting everything in the address field before the first slash (/). This is the root page for this site, and everything you need to know about this site should be on this page, or directly linked to from this page.

4. Site Appearance

Don’t be fooled by non-flashy or amateurish-looking sites. These may have very useful information. When doing research, avoid all sites with advertising.

5. Site Links

If a site has outdated/dead links, it has no integrity and therefore should not be used for research.

5. a. Offsite Links

While performing research on the web, always be sure of where you are and where a link you may click on is taking you. It could be a completely different site. Always check the Root URL (everything before the first slash) after clicking a link, to verify where you are on the web.

Tips & Further Information:

The following sites contain additional information on evaluating websites. If you are still unsure whether to use a particular website in your research you can always consult with a librarian or your teacher.

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/
Evaluate.html - Berkley

http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/
webeval.html - Cornell University

http://www.library.jhu.edu/researchhelp/general/evaluating/
index.html - John Hopkins University

http://gethelp.library.upenn.edu/PORT/evaluate/
worksheet.html - University of Pennsylvania Checklist

http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html
- New Mexico State University