1. Evaluating Internet Resources By Amy V. Cummings Library Media Specialist

2. What are the signs that a Web site is not reliable? Bias Inappropriate Material Dated Information Inaccurate Information Grammatical and Typographical Errors

3. How do you determine if a site is acceptable? Who is responsible for the page? Look for links such as “about this site.” Who is the intended audience? What is it? Is it someone’s school project, short story, advertisement, or personal site? (.gov,.edu,.org?) How thoroughly is the topic covered? Are references or a bibliography given to credit the information on the site? When was the site last updated?

4. Examples of what you should avoid: http://members.aol.com/mhirotsu/kevin/trip2.html The site is visually distracting and there are no links to check authorship. http://members.aol.com/mhirotsu/kevin/trip2.html http://www.comparativereligion.com At first this looks like a comprehensive site, but it’s actually written from one point of view. http://www.comparativereligion.com http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus.html It looks reputable, but it is deceptive to the unsuspecting and inexperienced. http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus.html

5. Examples of good sites: http://www.mrdowling.com Although it is privately created and maintained, the information is accurate, often updated, and contact information is provided. http://www.mrdowling.com http://www.cdc.gov Government sites are usually safe sources of accurate information and reliable statistics. http://www.cdc.gov http://www.chemicalelements.com It is easy to see who is responsible for this excellent site. http://www.chemicalelements.com

6. Resources for further study: WebQuest about evaluating Web sites by Joyce Valenza http://mciu.org/~spjvweb/evalwebstu.html http://mciu.org/~spjvweb/evalwebstu.html University at Albany Libraries “Evaluating Internet Resources” http://library.albany.edu/internet/evaluate.html http://library.albany.edu/internet/evaluate.html Kathy Schrock’s Critical Evaluation Information http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/eval.html http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/eval.html Lake Forest College Library “Evaluating Web Sites” http://www.lib.lfc.edu/internetsearch/evalweb.html http://www.lib.lfc.edu/internetsearch/evalweb.html