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Evaluation Web Sources: Evaluating Web Sources

This guide will teach you the process of how to evaluate websites.

Evaluate with a Critical Eye

Information found online or on social media has six purposes: to entertain, to sell, to persuade, to provoke, to document, or to inform. This information can be categorized into six zones of information.

  • news
  • advertising
  • entertainment
  • opinion
  • propaganda
  • raw information

Watch this Checkology tutorial to find out more.

How to Evaluate Websites

Website Domains

The Domain level of a website tells you type of entity that owns the website. A .gov website would have the highest credibility ranking and a .net website would have the lowest credibility ranking.

  1. .gov (U.S. government)
  2. .mil (U.S. military)
  3. .edu (university or college)
  4. .org (non-profit organization)
  5. .com (commercial)
  6. .net (network)

Examples:

Are these websites credible?

Evaluating Websites

Websites must be evaluated with a CRITICAL eye.

  • First, read the URL
    • Only look at webpages and websites that look to be legitimate, reliable, and credible.
    • Look at the the domain.  Is it a high or low ranking domain? (.gov, .edu, .com, .net, etc.)
    • Figure out the purpose of the website.  (Advocacy, Business, Informational, News, or Personal)
    • Do you recognize the name of the "publisher" or "server"? (CNN.com)
    • Is the information appropriate for the domain name?
    • Is it a primary or secondary website?
    • Is it a personal webpage?
  • Evaluate how the page looks
    • Is it free of grammatical and spelling errors?
    • Does it look professionally designed?
    • How much advertising is on the page?  Beware of too much advertising.
    • Is the page up-to-date?
    • Do the links work?
    • Is the information current?
  • Look for Helper buttons:  Site map, About us, About this site, etc.
  • Truncate the web address
    • Delete everything after the .com (.org, .net, .edu) and evaluate the homepage.
  • Evaluate the information: Triangulate the information.
    • Find out who is behind the information presented on the website and the website owner. Are they credible?
    • Verify the information by going to three other sources to make sure the information is accurate.
    • Has the information just be copied and pasted from another website?
  • Evaluate horizontally (laterally)
    • Open up another tab along side the website you are evaluating to make it easier to fact check information.
    • Verify the evidence presented on the website.
    • What do others sources say about the topic?

Website Evaluation Criteria: C.A.C.A.O

General Website Evaluation Criteria: Remember C.A.C.A.O

Use the following criteria in the box below when evaluating a website:

What is C.A.C.A.O?

Coverage

  • The extent to which a topic is explored. 
  • The links are accurate and good.
  • The page is complete.  
  • The information is free. 
  • The topic is covered adequately.
  • The page has thorough documentation.
  • Is the page a primary or secondary site.
  • Good Example:
  • Questionable Example:

Authority

  • The author is an expert in the field.
  • The author is qualified, reliable, and knowledgeable. 
  • Look for links titled "About Us", "Biography", "Philosophy", or "Background"
  • Research the author or the organization.
  • Search using multiple search engines
  • Truncate back to domain name to check publisher's authority
  • Look for it in an annotated professional directory
  • Check if other websites link to the page. Use different web browsers.
  • Google the author "Earlise C. Ward":  www.google.com
    • Example search: link:www.wisconsin.gov
  • Look for the "owner" of the site using a "whois" search.
  • Good Example:
    • The Jack London Collection
    • http://london.sonoma.edu
      • This website on Jack London has an author, an institutional affiliation, and contact information.
  • Questionable Example:
    • Life of Amos Bronson Alcott
    • www.alcott.net/frame.html
      • Click on biography
      • This web page has no author, no institutional affiliation, no contact information.

Currency

Accuracy

  • The reliability and correctness of the information.
  • The sources used for statistics, facts, and data are documented.
    • Check other web sites to verify the information.
  • The website looks professional.
    • No spelling and grammatical errors.
  • It is free of advertising.
  • Good Example:
  • Questionable Example:

Objectivity

  • The information is factual data and is free from personal bias.
  • The tone of the page is balanced and scholarly.
  • What is the purpose of the website. Is it to inform, persuade, or appeal to emotions?
  • Facts are separated from opinion.
  • The information is very detailed.
  • The goals or objectives are clear.
  • Does the author use inflammatory language or make over generalizations.
  • Good  Example:
  • Questionable Example: