Website
Evaluation
General Information:
Title:____________________
URL:____________________
Subject:__________________
Used site for:______________
# of links to other informational sites:____
# of links to commercial sites (ads):____
What type of site is this? (Government, personal, commercial,
educational, media, etc):
_________________________________
Site Organization:
Is the site complete with no blanks? ______
Do all the links work? ______
When was the site last revised? ______
Is the site well organized and easy to navigate? _____
Were the links pertinent to the information the site covered? _____
Informational Accuracy:
Is the site accurate? _____
Is the information comparable to information found on other sites? _____
Is the site unbiased? _____
If the site is biased is it obvious? _____
Is the spelling and grammar correct on the site? _____
Site Authenticity:
Is there information on the contributors to the site? _____
Are they well qualified? _____
Is there any contact information? _____
Is there a sponsor for the site? _____ Who? ________________
Would you use this site again? _____
Additional Comments:
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Rationale:
There are several qualities that need to be
considered when an individual looks to a website for information.
Among these are organization, accuracy, bias, and credibility.
For a site to be efficiently used it must be well organized and well
documented. It should be easy for a student to navigate the
website to find the sought after information. There should be no
blanks on the site or under construction signs. Links to
information should be well labeled and all the links should work.
It is very frustrating to find a link that promises a connection to the
desired information that ends up leading to an error message that the
site does not exist. A website should also have information that
is up-to-date and easy to verify through other sources. Websites
should be revised on a frequent basis to ensure the most up-to-date
information. What was true five years ago, or even six months
ago, might not be true today. If a website contains information,
specifically new research, that makes verification difficult, this
should be made clear to the user.
Another aspect to a “good” website is that it is either unbiased or the
bias is easy to spot so that the information the site offers can be
evaluated by the student in light of this bias. In a perfect
world all information available on the Web would be free of bias.
Unfortunately this is not always the case. Many sites have been
created that lend a specific slant to the information to further the
purposes of the authors of the website. This does not mean that
the site may not contain useful information. The user must take
this bias into account and look for independent verification for
‘facts’ that seem questionable.
Information on contributors and their credentials is also quite useful
when evaluating a website. It ensures that qualified individuals
have vetted the information. Websites that have been created by
professional organizations and educational institutions usually have a
list of contributors available to prove that credibility of the
information on the site. In instances where there is one sole
contributor to a website, the contributor should list his or her
sources so that the user can verify the information offered.
Sites with a single author may not be usable as a primary source of
information, but can be used to find other sources or avenues to
pursue. Contact information can be used to request further
information or to bring to the contributors’ attention any errata on
the site. This is important since it is so easy to correct
incorrect information on a website as opposed to a printed medium.