C.O.D. Library - Research Help

Evaluating Web Sites

The number and variety of resources on the Internet is phenomenal. Companies, organizations, educational institutions and individual people add information daily. However, not everything available on the Internet is acceptable to use for academic research projects.

Did you know that?

Almost anyone can and does publish anything on the World Wide Web.
Web sources often are not verified by editors or fact checkers as is done before print publication.
Web standards of quality are not fully developed.

Before you use a Web site for a research project, make sure that it passes your evaluation according to the following criteria: Authority, Purpose, Currency, Accuracy, and Ease of Use.

Authority

Who is the author of the Web site (a person, an organization, or a company)?
Is the author an expert on the topic? To what extent does the author's occupation, years of experience, position, or education make him/her an expert?
What do you know about the provider or sponsor (e.g. company, professional association) of the Web site? Is this information easy to find on the Web site?

Examples

Pass	Fail
Author clearly indicated http://www.ucl.ac.uk/kip/petro.php	No author or sponsor indicated or described http://members.cox.net/wwcw
Sponsor prominently displayed http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq3-1.htm	Author not an expert http://www.humancloning.org/essays/embryos.php
Sponsor's credentials prominently displayed http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/surgery.html	Author's credentials not stated http://www.jqjacobs.net/writing/osha.htm

Purpose

Does the Web site sell, inform, or try to persuade you of a certain point of view?
Is it a commercial, governmental, or educational institution Web site? Look at the URL or Web site address for .com (commercial), .gov (governmental), .edu (educational), .org (organization).

Examples

Pass	Fail
Informational Web site http://www.edmunds.com/	Website with a bias http://www.nra.org/
Organization Web site http://www.positiveparentingdupage.org/	Web site primarily commercial, not informational http://www.mms.com/us

Currency

Is the date of the last revision to the Web site indicated?
Are you able to find the exact date of the content you plan to use?
Are the links to other sites up-to-date?

Examples

Pass	Fail
Copyright date indicated http://www.mapquest.com	No date http://www.look-to-the-skies.com/global_warming.htm
Last revision indicated http://www.workingchild.org	No revision date indicated http://www.investingonline.org/

Accuracy

Is the information based on facts or opinions?
Does the author provide any supportive evidence for his/her statements?
Are the sources listed for any information presented as fact so that they can be looked for to verify the facts?

Examples

Pass	Fail
Sources for facts clearly indicated http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/govpubs/rpo995/	Sources for facts not indicated http://wa.essortment.com/televisionviole_rfzn.htm
Factual Web site http://www.obesityinamerica.org/	Opinion (personal) Web site http://www.john-daly.com/

Ease of Use

Is the Web site well organized? Can you easily find what you're looking for?
Does the site provide a way to search all the pages for a particular topic?
Does the site offer anything unique?
Are the graphics clear and helpful?

Examples

Pass	Fail
Well organized Web site http://www.2carpros.com/	Poorly organized site http://www.secretsofcats.com/
Search This Site option provided http://hybridcars.com/	Large site, no way to search for a topic http://www.focusas.com/Alcohol.html
Graphics enhance the content http://www.nationalgeographic.com/	Graphics do not enhance the content http://skepdic.com/tifraud.html

Please direct questions or comments to:
Diana Fitzwater, Librarian
fitzwate@cod.edu
rev. 7/07

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