Pathfinder for Evaluating Websites

Anyone can create a Web site. It is important that you examine sites critically to determine how useful they are before using the information for a research project.

1. C- Currency :

•  Is the publication date and the date of the last update found at the bottom of the webpage? (Sometimes you need to go back to the Homepage)

•  Is the information up to date? (More important for some topics than others)

2. R- Relevance

•  Does the information fit your topic?

•  Does the site contain a lot of information?

•  Is the information written at a level you can understand?

•  Have you looked at several sites and made sure that this site is the best one for your use?

3. A- Authority /Accuracy

•  Can you find the author of the site?

•  Is the author (or organization) qualified to write on the subject?

•  What is the extension on the URL? ( .gov, .edu, and .org are usually good sources)

•  Is there a way to contact the website's author? (Usually a sign of a good site.)

•  Is the information supported by evidence?

•  Can the information be found in other sources?

•  Are there spelling, grammar, or other errors?

4.  P- Purpose

•  Is the purpose of the site to educate, not to sell or entertain?

•  Is the information fact or opinion?

•  Are there clear personal biases?

5. P-Presentation

•  Is there a way to search the site?

•  Are there distracting ads, pop-ups, and animation?

•  Can you tell the difference between ads and the page content?

•  Does the site load quickly? Do the links work?

•  Is the site free? Does it require registration?

•  Can you find citation information?

Evaluate the four websites below and determine whether they would be good sites for a research project. Remember, a website does not have to be perfect and sometimes it depends on what you are researching for.