Evaluating Websites

Powerful search tools like Google bring the world of information to our screens. However, trying to scan through long lists of results looking for resources appropriate for university level research can be overwhelming. Take a moment to ask yourself the following key questions then you will be able to critically evaluate potential online resources to determine if they are right for your needs.

Before you click on any links, investigate the site domains.

Look at these URLs:

You can see right away which are commercial, government or educational sites.

Domains types:

.gov– government site
.com – commercial site
.edu/.ac – educational or research material
.org – organisation (Note: Not all .org sites are the official sites. Check the “About us” information on the site to make sure.)
.net – networks, some organisations, Internet Service Providers

Now, check the front of the URL for the publisher information.

http://www.theage.com.au/business/markets/stocks-set-to-rise-as-a-soars-again-20110404-1ctjk.html

You can see that this webpage is published by The Age, a trusted newspaper source. Look more closely at the URL and you can see that this page is in the business/markets section of the paper and you can even see the article title.

If you are not sure about a publisher, put the address in the domain search at this site:

Easywhois.com

Now that you have checked the URLs and domains, open the webpage and look closely at the content.

Authority - Who is the author and can you trust him/her/the organisation?

You should be able to find an author's name or an organisation, group, institution or agency name. If not, you can again look at the URL to determine where the page originated. If you cannot find more information about the author you will not be able to judge the credentials. Many websites and articles are written by hobbyists or others with no professional accreditation. This can especially be an issue with blogs. Look closely at the author’s professional and educational affiliations. Do you recognise any of these groups? Are they respected organisations?

Currency - How old is it? When was the site last updated?

One advantage of online resources is that they are often very current. However, pages are also discarded and not removed once they become out of date. This is especially important for medical and technological information. If the page has links, check out a few. If they are no longer available that is a good clue the site is not maintained or current.

Clarity - Can you understand what the author is saying?

A high quality site will present information clearly and be easy to navigate. The writing will be professional and ideas will be organised with links or references to back up arguments. Scan the page quickly. Does it look professionally put together?

Objectivity - Can you detect a bias? Is this an objective study or a personal opinion?

Many sites are written by consultants or other businesses who want to sell you their services. They will give you some free content and then ask you to pay for more. This is an obvious case but other sites are more subtle. Think about the tone of the writing. Is it satirical, exaggerated, use inflammatory images or language? Does the author only cover one side of a controversial issue? Be critical and suspicious. Never take the content at face value.

Coverage - Can you find further information linked to this site?

Look for links from the webpage to other websites. Does the site link to other credible sites and organisations? Are other people talking about the site or author? Use www.alexa.com to check the traffic to the site you are evaluating. Open Alexa and then paste your site's URL in the search box. Next choose "Get details." This will create a report on the number of links to the site and who is linking to it.

Audience - Who does the site target? Are you the intended audience?

Look at the site design and language. Is this site intended for researchers, professionals in a specific field, the general public, teenagers, children, etc.? Is the language very technical or very casual? Does this resource support your university level research?

This guide developed using information from the following sources:

For more information on evaluating resources:

http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/webeval.html