Evaluating A Web Site in 5 Minutes

Authority

• Write down who or what organization is responsible for the contents?
• Write down the verifiable credentials or other background information provided by the author or organization.
  
• Write down how to contact the person or organization responsible for the site.
  

URL

• Write down the URL for the web page.  Is it an educational, governmental, organizational, commercial or personal page?
  
• Look for.edu and .gov extensions as they are more closely regulated and usually indicate an education institution or a U.S. government site.

Purpose

• Is the web site trying to inform, entertain, advocate, advertise, or persuade?
• Does the web site indicate the sources of the information presented?

Accuracy

• Can you verify facts or information on this web page in another source?
• Is the information well written and free of grammatical and spelling errors?

Objectivity

• Is any advertising on the page? How is it differentiated from the informational content?
• How does the site cover the issue?  Is there a minimum of bias?

Currency

• Is the site well maintained with few broken links?
• When was the page last revised?
  

Maintained by: Barbara Jenkins, jenkins@uoregon.edu