Home: WEB SITE EVALUATION
Evaluation Resources
Practice

Evaluating Web Resources

Librarian: Amy VanScoy

Careful evaluation of web-based resources is an important aspect of good research. There are 5 primary criteria to consider when evaluating any kind of information, including web sites:

• Accuracy[Consistency, Corroboration, Criteria]
• Authority[Documentation, Origin, Authorship]
• Objectivity[Slant, Bias, Purpose]
• Currency[Date, Timeliness, Validity]
• Coverage[Scope, Comprehensiveness, Audience]

CARS: Credibility, Accuracy, Reasonability, Support

Online Evaluation Resources

Effective Web Searching: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/guides/websearching/
Examples to Consider
Evaluating Information Found on the Internet
Evaluating Web Resources
Evaluating Web Sites: http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/webeval.html
Evaluating World Wide Web Information: http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/libs/robeson_lib/instruction/eval.html
ICYouSee - T is for Thinking: http://www.ithaca.edu/library/training/think.html
Scholarly vs. Popular Materials: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/guides/spmaterials/
Ten C's for Evaluating Internet Resources: http://www.uwec.edu/Library/guides/tencs.html
Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/critical/index.htm
Criteria for Web Site Evaluation: What to Look for in a Website: http://www.lib.umich.edu/ugl/guides/evaluation/

Which Sites Would You Use?

Using the criteria for judging the value of a web page for research or information, determine which of the sites listed below you would accept and which you would use cautiously or discard.

1. How to Clone a Human
2. OncoLink
3. Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division
4. Feline Reactions to Bearded Men
5. The True But Little Known Facts About Women and AIDS
6. Medline Plus
7. The Smoking Section
8. Mankato, MN
9. Families Against Internet Censorship
10. Earth Save
11. Society, Religion, and Technology Project
12. Autobytel
13. No Smoke Home Page
14. A Brief Introduction to the Study of Holocaust Revisionism
15. The White House.Net
16. The T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. Project
17. The Dangers of Bread
18. The NOTMILK Homepage

Librarian Contact Information

• Amy VanScoy, Associate Head, Research and Information Services
• 515-5826
• amy_vanscoy@ncsu.edu
• http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/staff/vanscoy/