E V A L U A T I O N O F WE B S I T E S

WEBSITE CRITERIA

WEBSITE URL: SOURCE OF WEBSITE

• Government site?

• www.whitehouse.gov www.state.gov

• Organizational?

• www.peta.org www.occupywallst.org

• A dotcom site?

• www.disney.com www.microsoft.com

.EDU = ACADEMIC, COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES

.GOV = GOVERNMENT

.ORG = ORGANIZATIONS

charitable, religious or lobbying group

.COM = BUSINESS

OTHER URLS.mil = military site

.net = network

ACADEMIC/NONACADEMIC?

Sources for scholarly information include govt and educational websites:

WEBSITE CRITERIA

• Authority

• Sponsor/organization: who sponsors the site? Govt,

organization, business, educational, or other?

• Contact Information

• Is there an ‘About Us’ tab? Very important!

• Audience

• Specific group or audience [edu site directed to students]

• Specific age group? Other focus on specific audience

• Currency

• Updated regularly [see date at bottom of first page of site]

OTHER CRITERIA

• Authorship of material on site• Who writes material, entries or articles for the site?

• Who is featured on the site [experts in the field, governmental representatives, or other?]

• Objectivity --- Factual/Biased• Advocacy : emotional appeals, biased language

• Factual: statistics, facts, government information

• Coverage• Presents updated perspective on topic

• How far back is information kept on the site? [backlog of articles or entries]

• Appropriateness/Revelance• Is the website relevant to your topic? Why, or why not? [don’t

choose ‘just a website’ about your topic. Find a specific article or entry pertaining to your topic]

ORGANIZATIONS = OBJECTIVITY?

Animal Rights

• Organizations

present specific

perspectives on

issues they

represent

• Language Use

[emotional

versus factual]

ADVOCACY SITE

Food Movement

MAY BE ADVOCACY BUT NOT .ORG

Alternative news source

.com suffix

still presents advocacy

perspective

GOVERNMENT SITE VS. UNVERIFIED SITE

AUTHORITY IS OFTEN MORE DEFINED IN PUBLISHED SOURCES

Writer

• Editor

• Board Audience

Writer Audience

Published Sources

Web Resources:

• Website

author

• Website

Publisher

• No one!

VALUE OF ORGANIZATIONAL WEBSITES

• Sometimes questions existing

information [even factual]

• Presents alternative perspectives on

topics

• Examines conflicting/opposing

viewpoints on topics

EXAMPLES

• Cigarette smoking: although an issue before

websites, 30 years ago official government sources

supported smoking as a non harmful, or neutral

activity [supported by cigarette manufacturers]

• Food safety/GMOs: although government

websites maintain the safety of GMOs, independent

websites may question this stance

CorporationsGovernment

Public

Where advocacy meets

conflicting motives

APPROPRIATENESS, RELEVANCY

• How relevant is the information to your topic?

• How does the information compare to other

sources of verified information: books, reference

sources, reports

CURRENCY

Look at bottom for date. This usually

indicates last updated version of site.

WHICH SITE WOULD YOU USE?

Try distinguishing between these two sites for the topic:

Animal Cruelty.

A. Humane Society of America

http://www.humanesociety.org/?credit=web_id235304807

B. PETA: People for Ethical Treatment of Animals• http://www.peta.org/

What are some differences between the sites/organizations?

How do you think each organization approaches the cause of animal cruelty?

WHICH SITE WOULD YOU USE?

You are writing a research paper exploring the pros and cons of using “marriage promotion” as a means to decrease poverty and improve families’ well-being. Which source below would be a more reliable source of statistics? Be prepared to explain your reasoning.

A. The Heritage Foundationwww.heritage.org/Research/Family/cda0306.cfm

B. The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study

www.fragilefamilies.princeton.edu/

C. Both choices are equally good.

D. Neither choice appears reliable.

WHICH SITE WOULD YOU USE?

You are writing an essay about the health aspects of choosing a vegetarian diet. Which of the following sources would be a better place to get objective scientific information?

A. Meat vs. Vegetarian Diethttp://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/meat-vs-

vegetarian-diet-your-best/

B. Vegetarianism in a Nutshell: Health

www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/vegetarianism-in-a-nutshell-health.aspx

C. Both choices are equally good.

D. Neither choice appears reliable.