Credibility: Evaluating Websites

 

Evaluating websites

Finding evaluative information for web sources can be much harder than for books and articles. It's helpful to consult with your instructors, librarians, or other peers when trying to decide if a website is a credible source of information or not.

At our library, we teach students to use what we call the WWW Test where you always ask Who, What, and When of every information source. (You can also ask other "W" questions, like, "From where did the author get their information?")

In this question, you are asked to evaluate the website you chose. Do this by considering these four evaluative questions:

  1. WHO? (Authority)

Who do you think is responsible for creating the information on the webpage you chose, and why do you believe these authors are credible experts whose information is likely accurate and trustworthy? (Remember that authors can be individuals or a group.)

  1. WHAT? (Purpose)

What is the purpose of the information on your chosen webpage? (You can talk about a website mission or goals, if the information is objective or is it biased, and/or the intended audience for the page.)

  1. WHEN? (Currency)

Is the webpage appropriately current for the topic you are researching?

  1. FromWHERE? (Author sources)

In a bibliography, references list, Works Cited, or other form, does the website tell you where the authors got their information from? Are their sources credible sources of high quality? (Are they using expert, objective, and appropriately current information sources?)

Link to the video from the announcement - 

  Website Evaluation  (Links to an external site.)    (8 minutes)   Captioned    (Links to an external site.)   Not Captioned (Links to an external site.)