Website Evaluation – adapted from net.TUTOR @ Ohio State University
Your job is to DETERMINE:
PAC-bccr
Purpose - inform, persuade (advocate for a cause) or sell (commercial).
About this site
About us
Site index
Site map
Determine the purpose for these websites by clicking on them:
sell, inform, persuade?
Bookspot - ________________________
Princeton Review - ____________________
Author – person or organization responsible for c
Things to ask:
§ Is organization reputable?
§ Does author have appropriate education, training, and/or experience?
Things to look at:
§ c copyright symbol
§ ~ in url for
§ Site documents, linked biographies, resumes
Who is the author of these web sites?
Eye on DNA - ___________________________________
Victorian Web - __________________________________
Content - What type of information is it?
1) Bias
For controversial topics: Balanced (both pts. of view)? or Biased (one-sided)?
Are the claims: Supported (w/documentation & evidence)? or Unproven?
Angel on Death Row - ________________________________
Supported?____________
or
Unproven?____________
Death Penalty Focus - ________________________________
Supported ?____________
or
Unproven?____________
2) Coverage – how well it covers the topic & do other sites cover this topic
Look for: Other sites on the same topic that you can quickly browse and compare to
yours. This is also a good way to evaluate controversial claims.
How to Locate Similar Sites
You can locate similar sites easily using Google.
In the search box, type:
related:[URL of known site]
Example: related:www.deathpenalty.org
3) Currency – when?
Things to look for:
§ Page creation or revision dates.
§ "What's New" page that describes when content was updated.
§ Press releases or other dated materials.
4) Recognition – Do others recognize the value of its contents?
Things to look for:
§ Links from other sites- Google – link:[URL of site]
§ Tags for this site – del.icio.us—look how many bookmarks
§ Reader’s comments – Technorati—blogger’s name or name of blog-
# of blogs linking to website
§ Citations of articles by other researchers: example using Google.—type in title of article ………..Google Scholar – look for….Cited by….
How many sites are linked to these sites?
Google Advanced Search
Ipl2 -- www.ipl.org - _____________
Go Ask Alice – www.goaskalice.columbia.edu - _________
****Homework: 1) watch this video on Understanding Google Search Results
Your job is to DETERMINE:
PAC-bccr
Purpose - inform, persuade (advocate for a cause) or sell (commercial).
About this site
About us
Site index
Site map
Determine the purpose for these websites by clicking on them:
sell, inform, persuade?
Bookspot - ________________________
Princeton Review - ____________________
Author – person or organization responsible for c
Things to ask:
§ Is organization reputable?
§ Does author have appropriate education, training, and/or experience?
Things to look at:
§ c copyright symbol
§ ~ in url for
§ Site documents, linked biographies, resumes
Who is the author of these web sites?
Eye on DNA - ___________________________________
Victorian Web - __________________________________
Content - What type of information is it?
1) Bias
For controversial topics: Balanced (both pts. of view)? or Biased (one-sided)?
Are the claims: Supported (w/documentation & evidence)? or Unproven?
Angel on Death Row - ________________________________
Supported?____________
or
Unproven?____________
Death Penalty Focus - ________________________________
Supported ?____________
or
Unproven?____________
2) Coverage – how well it covers the topic & do other sites cover this topic
Look for: Other sites on the same topic that you can quickly browse and compare to
yours. This is also a good way to evaluate controversial claims.
How to Locate Similar Sites
You can locate similar sites easily using Google.
In the search box, type:
related:[URL of known site]
Example: related:www.deathpenalty.org
3) Currency – when?
Things to look for:
§ Page creation or revision dates.
§ "What's New" page that describes when content was updated.
§ Press releases or other dated materials.
4) Recognition – Do others recognize the value of its contents?
Things to look for:
§ Links from other sites- Google – link:[URL of site]
§ Tags for this site – del.icio.us—look how many bookmarks
§ Reader’s comments – Technorati—blogger’s name or name of blog-
# of blogs linking to website
§ Citations of articles by other researchers: example using Google.—type in title of article ………..Google Scholar – look for….Cited by….
How many sites are linked to these sites?
Google Advanced Search
Ipl2 -- www.ipl.org - _____________
Go Ask Alice – www.goaskalice.columbia.edu - _________
****Homework: 1) watch this video on Understanding Google Search Results
