Website Evaluation Clip art licensed from the Clip

Website Evaluation "Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on Discovery. School. com“ http: //school. discoveryeducation. com/

How to evaluate a website Authority ü Who wrote the pages and are they an expert? ü Is the name on the site the author or the Webmaster? ü Does the site provide author contact information and author biography? ü Who published the site **Look for About or More About the author on the webpage **Google author to get credentials/background information **Look at domain name for indication of site sponsor/publisher

v. Bias ü What is the purpose of the site – is it stated? ü Is the information opinion or fact? Is it biased in some way? § Is site free of words such as NEVER or ALWAYS

v. Coverage Ø Is the topic and purpose of the site easy to identify? § Is the information provided relevant to your research needs. ü Is the layout well thought out and well organized? ü Is it easy to move from one place to another? Are the links relevant?

v Accuracy ü Does the information agree with information from other sources? ü Are sources cited or listed in bibliography? § Does this Web site provide useful information? § Are there spelling, grammatical or typographical errors?

v Currency ü Is the information presented current? ü Is there a copyright or revision date available? ü Do all of the links function properly?

Additional things to consider v=Where does the information come from: Regulated • government agency: federal (. gov) • educational institution (. edu or k 12) Unregulated • commercial business: (. com) • organization: service oriented, non-profit (. org) • network organization (generic/all-purpose) – ? ? ? (. net)

Examples of sources that are often the most credible: • • • Official government websites Institutional sites that represent universities, regulatory agencies, governing bodies, and respected organizations with specific expertise (e. g. , the Mayo Clinic) Peer-reviewed journals Reputable news sources Sources located on subscription databases Examples of sources that are often considered less credible: Blogs Web forums Individual or business websites Materials published by an entity that may have an ulterior motive

What is the important thing about a: • Subscription database – paid for – pre-selected material – reliable – published magazines, reports, documents, newspapers, books, images, etc.

Subscription Databases available at KFLMC • e. Library Science • e. Library • Galenet • Culture. Grams • Proquest • Sirs

Subscription Databases provided by PA Dept. of Education • Locating databases in school: Go to Destiny library home page Click on link POWER LIBRARY Select appropriate database • Locating databases at home Use web address: database. accesspa. org/ Select your county (Dauphin) Select PUBLIC LIBRARY • Before being able to use, you will need to select your local library name and enter your public library card #.

• http: //law 2. umkc. edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/ conlaw/billofrightsintro. html

Websites to Evaluate • http: //www. basicplanet. com/mars/ • http: //solarsystem. nasa. gov/planets/mars