Evaluating Websites · Why it’s important… Websites,&don’thave&to&go&...
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Evaluating Websites: A “How-to” Guide for Middle-School Students
Transcript of Evaluating Websites · Why it’s important… Websites,&don’thave&to&go&...
Evaluating Websites: A “How-to” Guide for Middle-School Students
Why it’s important…
Remember that not all websites are created equal: just because it’s there, doesn’t make it true, or useful, or accurate.
Uh-‐oh. Looks like someone didn’t get her research done!
Why it’s important… Websites, don’t have to go through a long editorial process involving a whole army of people proofreading, checking facts, and proofreading some more to make sure the final product is accurate and correct. So now what? Time to find out what to look for…
Don’t worry: it doesn’t take THIS much Lme to evaluate a website!
What to look for…”Authority” Make sure that the person (or organizaLon) that is responsible for creaLng the website has experience with, or is an expert in the subject maRer.
How can you tell…?
What to look for…”Authority”
Some quesLons to ask: • Is the author of the site clearly idenLfied? • Is the author well-‐respected or an expert? • Is there contact informaLon for the author?
Here we can see the “author” of the site: the Government of Canada.
The “Contact Us” link is a good way to get in touch with the website “authors”.
hRp://www.statcan.gc.ca/start-‐debut-‐eng.html
Here, the contact informaLon is front and centre!
When you click on “Biography”, you find out about the author’s educaLon, qualificaLons and work experience.
hRp://www.colitz.com
What to look for…”Objectivity” ObjecLvity has to do with whether or not the informaLon is presented in a fair and balanced way. Before you can decide whether or not a website is objecLve or not, make sure you understand the purpose of the website. Is the purpose to entertain? To try and sway public opinion? To sell something?
How can you tell…?
What to look for…”Objectivity”
Some quesLons to ask: • Is the purpose of the website clear? • Can you tell if the informaLon on the site is
fact or opinion? • Is the website biased or balanced in the way
that it presents informaLon?
What to look for…”Objectivity”
Some (more)quesLons to ask: • Is the website trying to sell you something? • What is the website not telling you?
(This is tricky; you need to look at more than one source and compare.)
How objecLve do you think this site will be? Do you think it will outline the posiLve and nega've aspects of wind energy? (Who does CANWEA represent?)
hRp://www.canwea.ca/about/index_e.php
What do you think—fact or opinion?
hRp://listosaur.com/science-‐a-‐technology/5-‐reasons-‐a-‐mac-‐is-‐beRer-‐than-‐a-‐pc.html
Here’s a tip… The domain in the website address may give clues to help you asses the objecLvity and authority: • government sites “.gov” or “.gc” • universiLes & colleges “.edu” • organizaLons & associaLons “.org” • commercial (business-‐type) “.com”
Another thing… Watch for the Llde in a website address (~). The Llde is usually followed by a person’s name. What this means is that the parLcular page belongs to a specific person.
What to look for…”Currency”
This is preRy straighcorward: make sure the website includes up-‐to-‐date informaLon.
How can you tell…?
What to look for…”Currency”
Some quesLons to ask: • When was the site created? • When was the site last updated? • Are the links up-‐to-‐date or have they
expired? (Dead links can be a sign that the site hasn’t been updated recently.)
Here we see that that this parLcular page hasn’t been updated for a decade!
hRp://www.cmpharm.ucsf.edu/cohen/links/
News sites (obviously) need to be kept current. This arLcle shows when it was first posted, as well as when it was updated.
hRp://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/10/28/bc-‐quake.html
Argghhhh! So frustraLng when links aren’t updated or no longer work!!!
hRp://www2.macleans.ca/2012/10/26/at-‐home-‐with-‐maygan-‐sensenberger/
What to look for…”Accuracy”
Everything from the spelling and grammar, to the actual content of the website, must be clear, error-‐free, and well-‐researched.
What to look for…”Accuracy” Some quesLons to ask: • Is the correct spelling and grammar used? • Is there a reference list (or are there links to
other websites) to show where the informaLon came from? (This is a good way to double-‐check that the informaLon is accurate; this also will show that the informaLon had been researched.)
What to look for…”Accuracy”
Another quesLon to ask: • Are you able to verify (confirm) the
informaLon in another book/website/magazine?
hRp://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/
The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus? Really? Hmmm…it might be a good idea to check some other resources to confirm the accuracy of this informaLon, don’t you think?
What to look for…”Usefulness” A website might have everything else going for it, but if it’s not the right website for you as a middle-‐school student, then it probably won’t be useful. You also want a website that’s been designed in a way that makes it easy to access the informaLon.
How can you tell…?
What to look for…”Usefulness”
Some quesLons to ask: • Does the website load quickly? • Is it easy to read and navigate? • Has it been designed clearly and logically? • Is this the right website for you: are you the
intended audience?
hRp://www.fi.edu/ci/units/life/ hRp://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/acLviLes/player.php?file=YoungAnimals
hRp://www.uoguelph.ca/~jcolasan/index.html
Who is the intended audience for each of these science websites? Which one is “just right” for you? Don’t forget: it needs to be “just right” to be useful!
• Authority • ObjecLvity • Currency • Accuracy • Usefulness
Just remember…
References… This tutorial was created as part of a Master of Library and InformaLon Science course at the University of Western Ontario. All photo images are available through Microsol Office clipart. All website screen captures include the website address for user reference. Background Music: AccousLc Guitar Volume 11 Composed by Micheal Kakhiani Published by: Freeplaymusic www.freeplaymusic.com
