1. Verifying the Validity of Websites Mrs. Shatal LBS Class 7 th Grade

2. Vocabulary O Valid: Founded on truth or fact O Cite: To quote as an example, authority, or proof. O References: the act of mentioning something in speech or in writing O Unbiased: not having or showing an unfair tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others.

3. Why is it Important? O Misinformation is evil and it can narrow people’s minds. O When conducting research it is important to make sure that the information is accurate. O http://www.stephenswork.com/funkyshoes/ index.html

4. NOT VALID WEBSITES TO USE IN RESEARCH O Wikipedia O Ask.com O ChaCha O Questionsanswered.com O Why?..............

5. Nine Website Evaluation Criteria O Professionalism O Website has an author O Information must be credible and error free O Site is published and a copyright O Links to other websites with the same information

6. Nine Website Evaluation Criteria O References O Relevant topics O Information is unbiased O Website is Current

7. Professionalism O Anyone can make a website…. O Professional sites PAY someone to make them……does it look like a 2 year old made it? O Some professional sites include; O gov, org, mil, museum

8. Website has an author O Is the author of the website credible? O Ask yourself: O Is it clear who wrote the website? O Is the author qualified? O This means do they have education like a Doctorate or an M.D. O Are they a professional in their field. O For example I should not make a website about knee surgery…..because I don’t know anything about it.

9. Must be Credible and Error Free O No spelling or grammar errors. O Is the content consistent with what is already known on the topic. O If the information presented is ground-breaking, is there any proof to the accusations?

10. Site is published and copyrighted O The site is sponsored and/or has a copyright O Look to see if the website has a sponsor….Example: National Guard O Copyrighting costs time and money….so most fake sites will not have this

11. Links to other sites verifying the same information O Information between main site and sites provided through links should be the same. O Check a couple of links on the webpage, these sites should have information that is relevant to the topic.

12. References O The website should have references and links that reflect the quality and amount of research.

13. Relevant Topics O Topic discussed on the website should be relevant to what the website is about. O If the website is about Bigfoot it should be about Bigfoot and not about someone's mom.

14. Information is unbiased O The website should not try to sway your opinion. O Does the website present accurate descriptions of alternate viewpoints? O Are advertisements on the web pages?

15. Website must be current O The page is current and has been updated. O Is the information current enough for the topic? O Are revision dates posted on the web site? If so, when was the last revision? O How current are the links? Have any expired or moved? O https://archive.org/

16. Final Words O If you are in doubt, seek the opinion of a trained professional, or search for a new web site.

17. Questions?