Evaluating Websites Last updated: 12/2015

Objectives By the end of today you will know: Why websites should be evaluated How to evaluate websites

Why Evaluate? All websites are not created equally Example: Martin Luther King, Jr. http://www.martinlutherking.org

Google results

http://www.martinlutherking.org Would you use this site?

What do you think about this site?

Sample flyer

Who’s the author of the site? 8 8

What do you think of the author?

So, how will you know if a website is reliable?

How to Evaluate? Start your research using reliable sources Cross reference - find the same information in another source

How to Evaluate? Check Domain names Example, .com, .edu .gov = governmental agency (very reliable!) Example: hawaii.gov Information at .gov sites needs to be approved before posting.

Link check Find out who is linking to the site Example,

Link check results

(Who’s Higa? Teacher? Student? Expert in the field?) URL Check the URL or the web address: Does is have a tilde “~”? Indicates a personal website Ex. http://www2.hawaii.edu/~Higa (Who’s Higa? Teacher? Student? Expert in the field?)

Currency Consider your topic… Do you need current, or up-to-date information? Would “old” information be okay?

Authority: Sources listed? Does the author/site include a list of sources used? Where did they get their information from? Can you tell if the sources are credible or not?

Author’s purpose? To share facts versus opinion? Fact = something that is true Opinion = what someone thinks Bias = a preference for a particular belief or idea over other ideas and beliefs

Example What do you think Pearl City High School is known for?

Fact, opinion or bias?

Athletics too… Current?

Link check results

Wikipedia: What do you think?

Wikipedia: Rule of Thumb May be a good place to start (ex. references), but not end.

Wikipedia: The Good Side You might find great information under External links

Let’s Review Check domain names (.gov is good!) Link check – are others linking to the site and if yes, who? Currency Author’s background and purpose (ex. fact versus opinion)

Review (2) Also, start with reliable sources (ex books, encyclopedias, databases) Cross reference your information in multiple sources

Thank you for your attention, now you try it!