5.3 Evaluating Websites

MODULES

Module 5: Evaluating

All information sources need to be evaluated, but Websites offer additional challenges and need more scrutiny.

The Web is an excellent source of information for:

News CNN.com News
Grey literature
pamphlets, technical reports, handouts, and associations’ literature , i.e. Pacific Island Gray Literature Project
Self-publishing
lacking peer review process and not disseminated by the trade publishing industry
Data Idaho Game Fisheries
Advertising
product information, i.e. Amazon.com
Multimedia
images with sounds and animation, i.e. FishIndex MSN Encarta Multimedia Fish

In selecting free Web based information sources pay attention to the following criteria:

Examine: Credentials of the producer or sponsor delivering the information

Look for "about us," "home," "biography", and "credits" on the home page
Check other publications by the author or sponsor by going to Library of Congress Online Catalog Amazon.com
Examine and decode a URL address Wiki defintion: Generic top-level domain
Check who owns a domain Go to Whois.net
Search Google or Amazon for other publications or sites done by the author.

Consider: Information currency at the time of publication

Consider or determine: Why was the site created?

Module 5