Evaluating Web Sites

Why is it important to evaluate Web Sites?

Why is it important to evaluate Web Sites?

The quality of information on the Web varies.

Unfortunately, anybody can publish anything on the Internet. They can print whatever they want and call themselves what they like - nobody checks. Consequently, although there are some excellent sources of information on the Internet, not every site can be relied upon to provide reliable information.

Why is it important to evaluate Web Sites?

Don't spoil your chances of getting a good

grade in an assignment by basing it on poor quality information provided by unreliable sites. Check every site which you intend to use by answering the following questions about it and if you are in any doubt about it, then dont use it!

7 Criterions
Authority Accuracy Coverage Aim and Purpose of the Site Objectivity Currency Structure and Functionality

Criterion One: Authority

Is it clear who is responsible for the contents of

the page? What authority does the individual or organization have in their field? Is any indication given of the persons qualification or is there a link to information about the author or sponsor?

Criterion One: Authority (Continued)

Is there a contact name for following up any queries you might have? Is the site sponsored? If so by whom? What is the domain in the URL? (eg ac.uk, edu for educational or research material, gov for government resources, com for commercial organisations.)

Criterion One: Comments

Anybody can put anything on the Web. It is often hard to determine a Web Pages

authorship. The authors qualifications are not always given.

Criterion Two: Accuracy

Are the sources for any factual information clearly listed so they can be verified in another source? Is the information free of grammatical, spelling and typographical errors? Is it clear who has the ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of the contents of material?

Criterion Two: Comments

Unlike print resources, Web resources

rarely have editors or fact-checkers. Spelling mistakes etc not only indicate a lack of quality control, but could be an indication that the content is inaccurate as well. At present there are no Web standards to ensure accuracy.

Criterion Three: Coverage

What topics are covered? At what level is the page written? How in

depth is the material? Does the page offer anything that is not available elsewhere?

Criterion Three: Comments

Web coverage often differs from print

coverage. Frequently, it's difficult to determine the extent of coverage of a topic from a Web Page. The page may or may not include links to other web pages or print references.

Criterion Four: Aim and Purpose of the Site

What is the aim of the site? It is important to think about the purpose

behind a site being put on to the Internet. The site could be a have been put on by somebody with a bee in their bonnet about a particular topic. It could have been put on as a spoof or as a hoax.

Criterion Five: Objectivity

Are there political, ideological or other biases? Is the information free of advertising? If there is any advertising on the page, is it clearly differentiated from the information content?

Criterion Five: Comments

You do not want to base an assignment on

something which has an extreme political bias. Nor do you want to base an assignment on material which is just advertising.

Criterion Six: Currency

When was the page written? When was the page first placed on the Web? When was the page last updated? Are the dates of update clearly stated? If the material is presented in graphs and/or charts, is it clearly stated? How up to date are the links? How reliable are the links, are there blind links or references to sites which have moved?

Criterion Six: Comments

You do not want to base an assignment on

out of date material. Remember, though that: Publication or revision dates are not always provided. If a date is given, it could be when the material was first written, or when the material was first placed on the Web, or when the material was last revised.

Criterion Seven: Structure and Functionality

Is the structure and presentation of the site relatively clear? Is it laid out clearly and logically with well-organized subsections? Can you navigate round it fairly easily? Can visitors get the information they need within a reasonable number of links? Is there online help and guidance? Can you get through to the site reliably and quickly?

Criterion Seven: Comments

This section is more subjective than the previous

ones. In the States a survey asking people to rate the layout of sites as either being good or bad showed that some sites were rated in both categories. However, if you are going to be using a site often, then it is important that you can navigate round the site easily and that you can get to the information you require with the minimum of clicks.

Final Evaluation
Once you have checked a site against all

the criteria, you are in a position to decide whether you would use it for an assignment.

References
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: or, Why Its

a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Sources http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html