Notes
Slide Show
Outline
1
4. 
Web Site Evaluation
  • Nancy Woodward – Head Librarian
  • Upper School Information Literacy Instruction
  • Wooster School
  • Danbury, CT
2
Why do you need to?
  • Anyone can put anything they like on the Internet.
  • Just because it is on the Internet does not make it true or useful.
  • There are many jokes and pranks on the Internet.
    • Check out the FAKE White House pages, http://www.whitehouse.net/.
    • Compare it to the real White House pages, http://www.whitehouse.gov/
3
 
4
 
5
 
6
 
7
How do I evaluate a site?
When looking at a Web Page, ask yourself:
  • Who?
  • What?
  • When?
  • Where?
  • Why?
8
Who?
  • Who put the site together?
  • Is the author's name on the page?
  • Can you contact them? (email, phone number, etc.)
  • What gives them the knowledge/right to publish this site?
9
Take a Look at “Who”!
Evidence / Missing Evidence
10
Take a Look at “Who”!
Evidence / Missing Evidence
11
What?
  • What is the purpose of the site?
    • Are they trying to sell you something
    • Are there pop up windows or advertisements
    • Is it educational
    • Are there links to other sites
  • What makes the site easy to use or not easy?
  • Do the site’s pages all look like they belong together? Color? Logos? “Back to” links?
12
What kinds of sites are there?
  • .com means commercial (business). It is designed to make money
  • .edu means educational (college or university).
  • .k12 means a school.
  • .org means non-profit.
  • .gov means government.
  • .net means an Internet Service Provider.
13
Take a Look at “What”!
Information / Selling Something?
14
Take a Look at “What”!
Information / Selling Something?
15
When?
  • When was page/site last updated?
    • Check for a date on the page - usually along the bottom
  • Is the information current? Need it be?


  • When were bibliography items dated?
16
Take a Look at “When”!
 Date / Old or No Information
17
Take a Look at “When”!
 Date / Old or No Information
18
Where?
  • Where is it published on the internet? .org, .gov, .edu, .com
    • News update – you don’t have to a not-for-profit to have an .org page!

  • Where does the site come from?
19
Look for these sites, too:
  • ~Name is a personal Web Page. http://www.west.com/~smith.html
    • Be careful using personal pages. Since they are personal, no guarantee of their accuracy.
  • .uk stands for United Kingdom
  • .jp means Japan.
  • .fr stands for France.
  • .de stands for Germany
20
Take a Look at “Where”!
Familiar Source / Unfamiliar Source
21
Why?
  • Why was this site posted? To persuade, inform, advertise?
  • Why are advertisements included?


  • Why is this site valuable?
    • Is the information relevant to your topic
    • Are there other sources linked to this page

  • Why is this site better than another?
    • Double check this information with another site
22
Take a Look at “Why”!
Information You Need / Information You Don’t Need
23
Take a Look at “Why”!
Information You Need / Information You Don’t Need
24
Be Careful! Read This!!
25
Works Cited:   (my bibliography)
26
The End
  • Thank you