Evaluating Websites

Why evaluate a website? Anyone can create a website! How do you know the author of the website is an expert? How to you know the information is up to date? How do you know the information is accurate and what you need?

The 5 Ws of website evaluation Who What When Where Why

Who: Who wrote the pages? Are they an expert on this topic? Is the information about the author included? How can I find out more about the author? Is there a way to contact the author?

What: What is the purpose of the site? What else might the author have in mind for the site? Is there advertising on the site? Does the site reflect bias or opinion? What makes the site easy to use? What information is included? Is it accurate?

When: When was the site created? When was the site last updated? Are the links on the site up to date and working?

Where: Where does the information come from? Does the author included references? Where can I find out more about the owner of the site? Check the URL (Web address) Does an organization, institution or person’s name appear in the address? What is the domain? .gov – government site .edu – educational institution .org – non-profit sites, charities (but not always!) .com – commercial, business site .net – anyone can buy this kind of site

Why: Why is this information useful for my purpose? Why should I use this information? Why is this source better than another?

Putting the Ws to work Use the evaluation checklist to answer Who What When Where Why Decide: Is it a trustworthy and useful site? Would it be a good website to use for information and research?

References Schrock, Kathy. The 5 Ws of website evaluation. The Schrock Guide, 2009. Web. 19 Jan. 2015.