Web_evaluation

=Evaluating Web Sites=

The collection of web sites and online resources that we call the Internet is a vast wilderness. Anyone with the smarts and the technology necessary for making a web site, can do so, regardless of whether they are truthful or an actual expert on the information they put up on their web site. Wise users of the Internet must evaluate whether sites they visit are **accurate**, **current**, and **useful**.

Google (or Other Search Engines)
Everyone loves [|Google]. It's so easy to use and it gives you lots of web sites. However, it is searching the whole wilderness of the Internet without making any claims about whether the information found is accurate, current, or useful.


 * Here are some questions to ask when visiting a site:**
 * Look at the **URL** (or address) of the site
 * If it is **.com**, this site is probably some kind of business that wants to make money.
 * If it is **.org**, this site is created by an organization of some kind.
 * Sites with **.gov** are run by a government agency of some kind.
 * Sites with **.edu** are created by some kind of educational organization, usually a university.
 * Can you tell what business or organization created the site and why? Look for a link to "About Us" or something similar.
 * Are there any other organizations who support the site?
 * Can you find the name of an individual who is responsible for the site?
 * Did they give any contact information like an email address?
 * Is there anything that shows that this person is qualified to share information on the topic of the site? Do they know what they are talking about?
 * Does this site share **facts** or **opinions**? Are they giving information on a topic or are they trying to convince people to believe what they believe?
 * Can you tell when the site was last **updated**? Sometimes this information is at the bottom of the page.
 * Sometimes you can tell a site is out of date is it has a lot of links that don't work anymore.
 * There is a tricky way to find out what other sites link to the site you are viewing.
 * In a search engine, type in **Link:http://_________________ **, but replace the blank with the rest of the address of the site you are investigating. This will show what sites have a link that site.
 * If the sites that link to the site are questionable, then you should think twice about using this site.
 * As you read the information on this site, does it make sense to you? If a site is too hard to read or confusing, then it isn't going to be very useful to you.
 * Is the site organized in a helpful way? Does it have clear sections and can you tell what they are about?


 * Using all the information you have gathered, is this going to be a trustworthy site for your research?**

Reliable Sites for Students
Whew! Using a general search engine like Google takes a lot of detective work! If you would like to save time, you can use sites that lead you to reliable information and web sites.
 * [|NCWiseOwl] has collections of information from encyclopedias, magazines, newspapers, and other reference sources. A publisher created these materials and resources, so you can trust them a little more than information from just anybody.
 * [|NetTrekker] is a search engine like Google in that it takes you a variety of web sites. However, teachers and other netTrekker staff members have checked these web sites to make sure that they are accurate, current, and useful for students.