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Website evaluation checklist
- 1. Website Evaluation Checklist Authorshipand Accuracy: Practically anyone can publish a website. Therefore, it’s important to be a critical consumer of information. Understanding who the author is (this could be an individual or an organization) and the author’s qualifications can help us determine the quality and reliability of the information Website 1: Website 2: http://www.dhmo.org http://www.watercure.com Does the site give an author or organization responsible Yes No Yes No for authoring the site? Is the author’s or organization’s credentials Yes No Yes No (degree/experience) provided? Website Domain: Be sure to look at the web address, which can give you some insight into its reliability. Note that .edu and .gov are restricted, which means that only academic institutions and government agencies can use these. Often times, websites with these extensions are more reliable. On the other hand, anyone can register a .com, .net, or .org site regardless of whether or not it’s a business, network, or organization. Therefore, websites with these extensions should be carefully scrutinized. Indicate the type of .com(commercial/company ) .com(commercial/company) extension by marking the .org (non-profit organization) .org (non-profit organization) box that matches the .edu (academic institution) .edu (academic institution) website’s domain. .net (Network) .net (Network) .gov/mil/us (Gov’t agency) .gov/mil/us (Gov’t agency) .uk (country sponsored site) .uk (country sponsored site) other: other: Purpose and Content: In addition to the web address, evaluate the content of the website to determine its purpose. Some sites have a “mission statement” or an “about” page which will provide more information. If you’re looking for research information and the site wants your credit card number, think twice. What is the purpose of this Inform Persuade Sell Inform Persuade Sell website? Entertainment Entertainment Other: Other: What type of information Balanced, objective or factual Balanced, objective or factual does the site provide? Biased, subjective, Biased, subjective, opinionated opinionated Are there any words or concepts related to the overall purpose of the site that you don’t understand? If anything seems “fishy” use google or dictionary.com to do some research. Yes, I looked up the following words/concepts: No, I did not need to look up any words or concepts Yes, I looked up the following words/concepts: No, I did not need to look up any words or concepts
- 2. Currency, Functionality, andDesign: Depending on the type of website, recent updates can be important. When websites are regularly updated, this means that they are being monitored and someone is taking the time to maintain the site. There are some exceptions to this. For example, a historical site about the Constitution would need fewer updates than a site about the current economy. Another component of a well maintained site is that the links work. You can also evaluate a website based on the design. Does the site look professional? Was the site recently Yes No updated? Does this site have working links (links are Yes No writing on the page that take you to another page when you click on them)? How does the website appear Well designed and organized Easy to read and navigate overall? Help screens available A search feature is available Poorly designed and organized Difficult to navigate Helps screens unavailable Search feature unavailable Yes No Yes No Well designed and organized Easy to read and navigate Help screens available A search feature is available Poorly designed and organized Difficult to navigate Helps screens unavailable Search feature unavailable Now that you’ve completed the checklist, between the two websites that you reviewed, which one do you think is the most credible? Answer:__________________________________________