Evaluating Websites
The Internet provides amazing access to andinformation and resources from around the globe.  However, no matter how enticing it seems, you can't trust everything you find.  In order to be a good Internet consumer, you have to carefully evaluate the Web sites you use.  As Ida says, you have to B.  A.W.A.R.E.!!!
Is BIAS present? Ask yourself these questions:
  • What's the primary intent of the site? Advocacy? Information? Entertainment? Commercial/sales?
  • How does the primary intent of the site affect the information it contains? (Note: this won't always be clear. Many times sites have more than one purpose or agenda.)
  • Does the site use terminology that tries to make readers feel a certain way about a topic or is information presented in an objective manner?
  • What other sites link to this site? Go to Google Advanced Search, scroll down until you see the heading "You can also..."  Click on "Find pages that are similar to or link to a URL"  and follow the directions for "Search for pages that link to a URL." The results show who or what organizations link to the site. What do the results tell you? Can you make any generalizations about what type of sites or organizations link to that site?
  • Is it a personal site (does the URL contain a ~ or the word users)? What does that suggest?
Who's the AUTHOR of the site? Ask yourself these questions:
  • Does the author have any expertise in the field that makes him or her a valid "subject matter expert?" Google any author's names - what can you find out?
  • If no author is listed, is there the name of a sponsoring organization? Google any organization names - what can you find out?
  • Is there a link or other contact information provided to contact the author or organization? If there's no way to contact the them, what might that suggest?
  • If you can't find an author, use easyWhoIs (see directions below) to find the webmaster or owner of the domain name. Google the webmaster or domain name - what can you find out?
  • What does the domain extension (.edu, .gov, .com, .net, .org) tell you? 
  • What do other parts of the website tell you? Truncate the URL (shorten the URL starting from the far right and working to the left - here's a video showing what that means) to find what other pages are within the same website or server.can you make any generalizations based on what you find?
WHEN was the page created or last updated? WHERE is the page hosted? Ask yourself these questions:
  • Is the information on the site current or outdated? 
  • What can easyWhoIs tell you? Type only the domain name and extension into easyWhoIs. (Not the complete URL. So http://www.martinlutherking.org/ would become martinlutherking.org). Who purchased the domain name and what can you find out by googling their name(s)? What other information seems relevant to evaluating the site?
Is the information on this site ACCURATE? Ask yourself these questions:
  • Does the information on the site come from reliable sources?
  • Can you triangulate ( verify using multiple sources) the information on the site?
  • Is the site free from grammar and spelling errors?
  • Is the site kept up-to-date?
What's the READABILITY of the site? Ask yourself these questions:
  • What's the reading level of the website - could students successfully understand it?
There are a coule of ways to check the reading level of text. The first is to use a website like https://readability-score.com/  Copy a block of text and paste it into the box on the site.

Another option, although a bit more work, is to check the readability level of a passage using the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level built into Microsoft® Word to display readability statistics. Here's how:

For Word XP: on the Tools menu, click the Spelling and Grammar tab. Select the Show readability statistics checkbox, then click OK. Select, copy, then paste a paragraph or two of text from the website into a blank Word document. On the Tools menu, click Spelling and Grammar. When Microsoft® Word finishes checking spelling and grammar, it displays information about the reading level of the document
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For Word 2007: Click the Microsoft® Office button located in the uppermost left-hand corner of the screen. Click Word Options. Click Proofing. Make sure Check grammar and spelling is selected. Under when correcting grammar in Word, select the Show readability statistics checkbox. Select, copy, then paste a paragraph or two of text from the website into a blank Word document. Select the Review tab and click ABC Spelling & Grammar. A dialog box showing information about the reading level of the document will appear.
What is the EDUCATIONALvalueof the site? Ask yourself these questions:
  • Would students be able to easily navigate the site?
  • Are graphics used to enhance the educational effectiveness of the site?
  • Does the site offer multimedia elements such as audio or video that would enhance student learning?
This website was created by Susan Bowdoin and Drew Dooley, and edited by Jonathan Brinkerhoff, for use in MSET 365. Last updated on: 1/27/11