How to Evaluate
Websites
When you use the internet for an assignment or research, you
want to make sure you are finding good, accurate information you
can really use. For this lesson, you will be finding
out how to critically look at any website and decide if it is
accurate, trustworthy and usable!
There are several questions you need to ask:
- Can you identify the author of the website? Are they an
authority on the subject (in other words, can you trust their
information?)
- Who is hosting the site? A university, school or other .edu ? A .gov government agency? A
company or .com that
sells products? An individual?
- Can you double-check the information you find there? Does
this site give you other good sites to visit or a bibliography?
- Does it tell you all sides of the issue - or is the author
biased towards one side of the issue?
- When was the site last updated?
Before you click this link to take the WEBSITE EVALUATION
TEST do the activities below....This window
will stay open while you read these 2 assignments; close the
other windows to get back here. I know you don't want to miss
taking the test!!!
- Read the information at the following website from Multnomah
County Library's Homework Center,
What Makes a Web Site Good?
- Go through the QUICK Quality
Informaton Checklist Tutorial that takes you step-by-step
through evaluating a website.
- Take the WEBSITE
EVALUATION TEST.
Two alternate websites you can visit if these links are not
working are:
Wolfgram Memorial Library's
Checklist for an Informational Webpage
or
University of Florida's Tips for Evaluating a
World Wide Web Search.
...even college students need to know how to tell a good website
from a bad one!