Evaluating a Web Page
The internet is an unregulated medium. There are many web pages that are not suitable to use as a scholarly reference
for a class assignment. Sites that are linked from the NIC library page are usually scholarly and reliable. When you go
outside of the NIC library site you will have to use critical thinking skills to determine reliability, appropriateness and
scholarly content.
Five Criteria for evaluating a web page:
- Accuracy
- Who wrote the page and does the author provide contact information such as email, phone, or mailing address?
- Is the author different from the webmaster? And is the author qualified to write on this topic?
- Are sources of information and factual data listed, and available for cross-checking?
- Authority
- Who is responsible for the page? What are their qualifications and associations and are they clearly stated?
- Check the URL domain of the document to determine which organization or institution published the document.
If you know what type of site your on, you are more able to determine its purpose.
- .ca indicates an educational institution in Canada
- .edu indicates and educational institution in the U.S
- .ca is used by Canadian sites
- .com is used by commercial sites
- Objectivity
- What is the intended purpose of the page and who are the intended audience?
- Are biases as well as affiliations clearly stated? If the page is intended to
advertise a product, then be aware of the bias. It is helpful to read any webpage
as you would a TV commercial.
- Currency
- When was the page created and is it updated on a regular bases? This information should be clearly noted.
- Is the information and the facts outdated?
- Are there broken links?
- Coverage
- Does the page provide a balanced overview of the topic and is there enough detail to be useful for your assignment?
- Is there a balance between images, text and facts?
- Are outside links evaluated and is the content free?