Evaluating Websites
The internet contains a vast amount of information, but because anyone and everyone can contribute to it, it's important to think critically about the information you find online.
1. Authority
Who is the author of the page?
Can anyone add content to the page? (eg. wikis)
What institution or organization hosts the page?
Do the author and/or page host provide contact information? What is their reputation?
2. Accuracy
How accurate are the information and links on the page?
Do the links lead to pages relevant to the topic? Do they work?
3. Objectivity
What is the purpose of the page: to persuade, argue, inform or to sell a product?
4. Currency
How current is the information on the page?
Does the page contain information on when it was created and/or last updated?
Are the links up to date?
5. Coverage
How does the information on the website compare to information available from other sources, such as books and periodicals?
Does the page provide information not readily available elsewhere?
How valuable is the information on the page?
Who is the intended audience?
Website Evaluation Checklist
Above is a checklist put together by the libraries at the University of Maryland to help you in evaluating website that you may consider using in your research.
Evaluate your memes
Domain Codes
The domain code of a website can give you a good idea of the reliability of the information on the page and where the information is coming from. For example, websites hosted by government agencies and academic institutions are generally reliable sources.
Below are some of the more common domain codes you may encounter:
- .com - commercial source, available to anyone
- .edu - educational institution
- .gc.ca - government (Canada)
- .gov - government (US)
- .int - international organization (eg. NATO)
- .net - network, available to anyone
- .org - non-profit organization
More domain codes, including country/region codes, can be found here.