1. Evaluating Websites
Last updated:
11/2013

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

3. Why Evaluate? All websites are not created equally
Example: Martin Luther King, Jr.

4. Google results

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

6. What do you think about this site?

7. Sample flyer

8. Who’s the author of the site?8 8

9. What do you think of the author?

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

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

12. 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.

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

14. Link check results

15. (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.
(Who’s Higa? Teacher? Student? Expert in the field?)

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

17. 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?

18. 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

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

20. Fact, opinion or bias?

23. Athletics too…
Current?

24. Link check results

25. Wikipedia: What do you think?

26. Wikipedia: Good & Bad

27. Wikipedia: The Bad Side
E.g., A 2007 news article:
• 1,662 Wikipedia edits made from Univ. of Hawaii computers
• 776 edits made from Dept. of Ed. computers

28. Wikipedia: The Bad Side
Examples:
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice died in a Texas bathroom in 2004
Hawaii Congressman Neil Abercrombie has killed more than 5 million wolves
(anyone can post information)

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

30. Let’s Review How can you evaluate a website?
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)

31. Thank you for your attention, now you try it!