1. Internet Evaluation

2. Why should I evaluate? Anybody can create and publish a web page. Information on the web goes through a different publication process than information published in books and journal articles.

3. The Five Factors – Who – What – When – Why – How

4. Who? Authority of the website Who is the author? Is he or she affiliated with an organization, company or institution? Does the author or webmaster provide any contact information?

5. Who? The last part of a URL contains information about who created the site:.edu (educational institution).gov (government).com (commercial).org (non-profit organization).us (American).au (Australian).ca (Canadian)

6. What? How relevant is it to your research needs? Is the information supported by proven facts? Is the coverage basic or complete? Is the information believable? Trust your instincts.

7. When? Is current information important to your information need? When was the information published? When was the website last updated?

8. Why? Does the information try to inform or persuade? Are they trying to sell you a product or an idea? How objective or biased is the information?

9. How? How easy is it to find information? Are the links accurate and current? Is it easy to navigate through the site? Do the color, font size and use of animation add to or distract from the website's usefulness?

10. WIKIPEDIA Wikipedia has no screening before publishing. Wikipedia is not a venue for serious research. Wikipedia is not always a definitive source. Wikipedia sources may be spreading misinformation, because the site is not immune to misleading or outright false posts. Use only for background information but not as a reliable source.

11. Test your Knowledge Use the five factors to evaluate the following sites. Which one would you trust? Tree Octopus http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/ http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/ Nature http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/octopus/ http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/octopus/