How To Tell If You Are Looking At A Great Website

1
Is It Worth My Time?
Tips for Evaluating Websites, or Dont Believe
Everything You Read
2
The Web is like a flea market. There is much to
choose from but not all is quality. Some sites
are offered by reputable dealers but many are
not. Look for a hidden treasure, but watch for
sites which waste your time.
3
How can you tell if a site is worthwhile?Sometime
s a Web sites address can indicate the nature of
the site.

• Sites from commercial businesses usually include
  .com.
• Federal government sites end in .gov.
• K-12 school sites often include k12 in the
  address, and college and university sites often
  include .edu.

• Sites from non-profit organizations often include
  .org.
• A site with a tilde () in the address usually
  indicates that this page is maintained or created
  by an individual, rather than representing an
  organization, a business, or a school.

4
Criteria for Website Evaluation
Five questions to ask about the website
WHO
WHEN
WHAT
WHERE
WHY
5
WHO?

• Who wrote the page?
• Are sources identified and given credit?
• What are the qualifications?
• Is there a biography of the author?
• Can you contact the author?

REMEMBER
Personal sites may be more likely to present
opinion than fact.
6
WHAT?

• What is the purpose of the site?
• Educate, entertain, persuade, sell
• Is it clear?
• Easy to read
• Uncluttered
• Is it unbiased?
• Gender, racial, religious
• Is it easy to use and effective?
• Searchable

7
WHERE?

• Where does the information come from?
• Citations
• Where can I go for more information?
• Links
• Bibliography

8
WHEN?

• When was the site created?
• When was it updated?
• Is the information current?

9
WHY?

• Why is this information useful for me?
• Current
• Accurate
• Why should I use this page?
• Quality
• Content
• Links

10
Evaluate Some of These Sites

• Californias Velcro Crop Under Challenge
• Dog Island Free Forever
• Facts About the Civil War
• Facts About Beluga Whales
• The Jackalope Conspiracy

11
DISCUS andAccent On-line Card Catalog
They Are Worth Your Time!