Evaluating Web Pages

EVALUATING THE QUALITY OF INFORMATION FOUND ON WEB PAGES

There are five main criteria for evaluating web pages.
On this page we will discuss the first one. It is:

Authority

Here are some factors that give a website or page authority:

Does the source have solid credentials?:

Is the page from a college, university, or government institution? For example, the information at http://www.library.cornell.edu, the Cornell University Library website, has been thoroughly checked, and can be trusted.

What is the domain of the site or page?:

Is it .edu, .org, .gov., or .mil? The information at these sites is generally reliable. Be very careful in evaluating the information from .com, as the primary motive may be to sell you something. Infrequently, commercial sites can also be .net.

http://www.state.ny.us/, the New York State website could be a good place to start a search.

http://www.ahtimes.com/, Arabian Horse Times magazine, is a pretty site, but geared more toward selling a product than serious research.

Bibliography, Footnotes, and Links to Related Sites:

Lastly, is there a bibliography or are there footnotes? Are there links to sources for the site's content, or sites on the same or related subjects? Here is an example of a set of bibliographic citations:

26. J. Elsker, "The Freezing of Supercooled Water", Journal of Molecular Structure, vol. 250, pgs 245--51 (1991)
27. R.A. Brewster and B. Gebhart, "An experimental study of natural convection effects on downward freezing of pure water", Int. J. Heat Mass Trans. vol. 31, #2, pgs 331--48 (1988)
28. R.S. Tankin and R. Farhadieh, "Effects of Thermal Convection currents on Formation of Ice", Int. J. Heat Mass Trans., vol. 14, pgs 953--61 (1971)

Here are some more examples of authoritative websites:

	http://www.nps.gov/ (The National Park Service)
	http://www.ucdavis.edu/ (University of California at Davis)
	http://www.uspto.gov (The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office)

Just for fun, and a contrast, here is a website that completely lacks any authority!
The original website can be seen at http://www.sudftw.com/jackcon.htm

*The* JACKALOPE CONSPIRACY
	The Legend The Jackalope (Lepus-temperamentalus) is one of the rarest animals in the world. A cross between a now extinct pygmy-deer and a species of killer-rabbit, they are extremely shy unless approached. None have ever been captured alive and this rare photo (often criticized as fake) shows a mighty buck about to strike. Known by the ancients as "deerbunnies", it wasn't until the early 1960's that the modern more fearsome name of "jackalope" was adopted. It is written that you can extract the Jackalope's milk as it sleeps belly up at night. The milk is belived to be medicinal and can be used to treat a variety of afflictions. The truth is these creatures are aggressive and unpredictable, and should not be provoked for any reason!

©copyright SUDftw.com

The
JACKALOPE CONSPIRACY

The Legend The Jackalope (Lepus-temperamentalus) is one of the rarest animals in the world. A cross between a now extinct pygmy-deer and a species of killer-rabbit, they are extremely shy unless approached. None have ever been captured alive and this rare photo (often criticized as fake) shows a mighty buck about to strike.

Known by the ancients as "deerbunnies", it wasn't until the early 1960's that the modern more fearsome name of "jackalope" was adopted.
It is written that you can extract the Jackalope's milk as it sleeps belly up at night. The milk is belived to be medicinal and can be used to treat a variety of afflictions. The truth is these creatures are aggressive and unpredictable, and should not be provoked for any reason!

On the next page we will take a look at an area related to Authority.
Click on the link for the page about Accuracy

Accuracy

RELATED ARTICLES