WEBSITE RELIABILITY ERIKA SULLIVAN JHS LIBRAIAN

FIRST….. just because it has 1,000 people visit it, just means that it may very well have 1,000 people who all have the same inaccurate information as the other 1,000 people who accessed the website.

SECOND…. just because it is the first website that is viewed when you Google search it, does not mean that it is the more 'reliable'. It simply means that the words that you typed in to search, were found more frequently in the first few displayed websites.

THIRD…. ANYONE can purchase a domain name with.com,.net, or.org. I'm not saying that websites ending as such, are bad. What I am saying, is that there is generally no one at all to regulate information posted on those websites. Of course,.edu and.gov are specifically for (education or government). Which means that these websites are the more reliable out of the others. I'm not saying that there aren't going to be some mistakes, but they are the MOST reliable.

FOURTH… the copyright date doesn't always mean much of anything. Just because a website that was made 5 years ago, doesn't mean that it 'out of date' information. The owner of the website could very easily keep their information updated, and continue to do so for several decades. The 'copyright' date, is simply when the website was 'established‘.

FIFTHLY…. the 'Contact Us' link doesn't always display accurate information about the creator of the website. I could very easily make a website, dress it up to look official, and then in my Contact Us tab, I could claim to be a Professor at Oxford University. It is MY website, I can edit and claim to be what ever I want.

JUST A THOUGHT…. If you seriously wanted to validate the information, then E- Mail (or call) what ever 'organization' they claim to be apart of and ask if ????? (whom ever they claim to be), is actually working at their institution. That might not be fastest way to figure it out, but I don't see another way. That is, of course, if you REALLY needed to verify that the website was reliable, and the creator of the website was/is a reliable source

SIXTHLY…. the best way to verify if information is reliable or not, is to cross-reference it. Then again, it may be a common misconception, and the majority of the information may claim that a certain thing is true, when it really isn't.

5 POINT - WEBSITE RELIABILITY CHECKLIST 1) VALIDITY a) Who is the author(s) of the site? Look for their credentials. b) Is contact information provided? The author should be accountable for her/his work. c) Is there a link provided to their homepage? Look for a reliable institution. 2) CURRENCY a) When was the site last updated? A reliable site is frequently revised and improved. b) When was the site first created? A site's longevity is a clue to its stability.

5 POINT - WEBSITE RELIABILITY CHECKLIST CONT.’ 3) CONTENT a) Be wary of too much or too little. b) Are there links to other useful and reliable sites? They should be relevant to the subject matter. e) Does the advertising overpower the content? It shouldn't. 4) PURPOSE a) Is this site trying to persuade you? Educate you? Market a product? For instance, a.com site may try sell you something whereas an.edu site most often exists for the sake of education. b) Are there any biases that might be promoted: racial, gender, religious, or other types? Even non-profit.org sites may be biased.

5 POINT - WEBSITE RELIABILITY CHECKLIST CONT.’ 5) ACCURACY a)How can you ensure the information is precise, authoritative, and current?