Questions to consider when evaluating websites:
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Purpose – Look for an “About this site” link/section. Is the purpose of the website to solicit something? Do you see adds that could suggest bias? Could they have sponsored the research?
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Accuracy – Do you see citations or works cited listed? Is there evidence to back up claims or is the information opinion based? Are there spelling/grammatical errors?
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Authority: Author – Is there an individual credited for the website? Who are they? What are their credentials?
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Authority: Publisher – Who runs this website? How does the site pay for its existence?
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Relevance – Does this information make sense for your research? Does the intended audience match your purposes?
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Currency – Look for a latest revision or last updated date/year listed.
**TIP: Conduct perimeter scans (look along the edges – top, bottom, sides – of the website) to quickly find the answers to these questions and evaluate the information!
Expert Tip:
Use Google's site command to search specific websites and domains.
- Search only educational institutions' websites use site:.edu
- Search only government websites use site:.gov
- Search a specific website use the site's URL