Verifying the Validity of Websites

Rationale  Anyone can publish information to the Web.  Need to ask yourself several questions before deciding to use the information

Six Website Evaluation Criteria  Accuracy  Authority  Bias  Content  Resources  Timeliness

Accuracy  Is the information reliable and error free?  Can the information presented on the website be verified by all reliable resources?

Authority  Who is the author or sponsor of the website?  Is the author/sponsor reputable in his/her field?  Is the author/sponsor’s contact information presented on the website?  Is the URL.edu or.gov? .com and.org are less reliable

Bias  Is the content free of bias?  Is the website designed to sway opinion?  Does the website present accurate descriptions of accurate descriptions of alternate viewpoints? alternate viewpoints?  Are advertisements on the web pages? web pages?

Content  Can the content be found at several other reliable resources?  If the information presented is ground- breaking, is there any proof to the accusations?

Resources  Does the author/sponsor state where the information was obtained?  Is a bibliography or list of resources included on the web site?  Are the resources verifiable and reputable? and reputable?

Timeliness/ Copyright Date  Is the information current enough for the topic?  Are revision dates posted on the web site? If so, when was the last revision?  How current are the links? Have any expired or moved?

Methods for Narrowing Search  Use a filter  (site:.edu)  Use different search engines  Google  Bing  Yahoo  Use specific key words  Quotation Marks

DO NOT  Type a question in the search bar   Instead—  Type keywords and phrases relating to your topic  Examples:  Negative impact of media on children  Ways media enhances children’s lives

Final Words  If you are in doubt, seek the opinion of a trained professional, or search for a new web site.

Questions?