Evaluating Web Resources

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Evaluating Web Resources

• A Guide for the Literate, the Semi-Literate, and
  People Who Cant Find the On Button

2
Arent all Web sites created equal?

• That would be no.
• Most .com, and many .org Web sites want to sell
  something, either a product or an idea.
• Many Web sites are the creations of people with
  strong opinions but no expertise.
• Nobody regulates the Internet.

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So how do I know which sites are okay to use?

• Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate!
• Critical thinking skills can help even without a
  checksheet nearby. Start with your own
  commonsense. If something about the site looks
  or feels wrong, it probably is.

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In specific terms, that means ?

• Follow these general guidelines to determine a
  web sources credibility.
• Ownership This is the most important clue to
  reliability.
• Who sponsors the page? What school, company,
  magazine, organization, or person has created the
  site where the page is found?
• Is this information easy to find? If not, why
  not?

5

• Authorship
• Who wrote the page?
• What information turns up in a search of the
  authors name? Does this person have credentials
  in the field, or is he or she just a person with
  an opinion?
• With whom, or what, is this person affiliated a
  school, business, research organization,
  religious group?
• How hard is it to find information about this
  author? If its difficult, why is it difficult?
• If the page has no author visible, find out why.

6

• Content Look for clues to reliability.
• Is the page well-written, with correct grammar
  and spelling?
• Are the graphics clear and easy to understand?
  Do they support the rest of the information on
  the page?
• Is the page honest about its motives? Does it
  want to sell, inform, entertain, persuade, or
  annoy?
• Is the information current? Can you readily find
  a date on the page?

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• Evaluation
• What facts are presented?
• Where do they come from?
• How have they been interpreted?
• Can they be substantiated?
• Is there an email link to the author or page
  sponsor?
• How will this web site help my paper?

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How do I Unpack a URL?

• Look at the parts of this URL
• http//www.vocabula.com/ebooks/SpeakingofSilence.a
  sp
• If you want more information about a site, start
  lopping off bits of the URL and hitting the
  Enter key.

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Which suffixes do I trust?

• FYI
• .com indicates a commercial site
• .org indicates a private organization
• .edu indicates a school (not always a college)
• .gov well, what do you think?
• .mil indicates a military site
• .de, .uk, etc. indicate country of origin