FOCUS ON RESEARCH. Researchers often have difficulty determining how to judge the validity of information found on a website. Working in small groups of three or four, research and develop a set of criteria that can be used to evaluate a website for research purposes.
Begin by visiting one or more of the websites listed here. Compile a working list of criteria based on these sites, then work as a group to expand your list. For example, do you consider good design to be a sign of credibility? What else do you look at when you are assessing the relevance, currency, and validity of information on a particular site? How do you know if a website is commercially or politically biased?
Test the criteria you have developed by using a search engine to locate websites on a current topic (for example, global warming, genetically modified foods, software piracy, or MP3 file downloading). Select one website that interests you and evaluate its credibility as a source for research information using your own criteria. Revise your list of criteria as needed, and then format it as a document that can be shared with the rest of your class.
• http://libraries.dal.ca/using_the_library/tutorials/ evaluating_web_resources.html
“Evaluating Web Resources,” developed by the library at Dalhousie University
• http://help.library.ubc.ca/researching/evaluating-internet-sources/
“Evaluating Internet Sources,” from the library at the University of British Columbia
• www.vuw.ac.nz/staff/alastair_smith/evaln/index.htm
“Criteria for evaluation of Internet Information Resources,” from the Department of Library and Information Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.