Authority
(Author
or
Source)

Why is this important?

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• Look at the URL.
• Look for the "author."
• Stated on the page.
• About us link
• Who am I link
• Philosophy link
• Background information link
• Use your search engine to look up the author.
• Search name without quotes - FIRSTNAME LASTNAME
• Search name within quotes - "FIRSTNAME LASTNAME"
• TRUNCATE BACK the URL to find source.

• In the location box of browser, delete the end characters of the URL until you reach a slash /.
• Hit enter, examine that page for more information about the source of the web page.
• Delete the next set of characters to the slash, examine.
• Continue until you reach the first slash which is the home of the web page.

• What is the domain?

.edu

Used by educational institutions.

.com or .biz

Used by business or companies.

.org

Used by not-for-profit organizations.

.gov

Used by governments (primarily in the U. S.)

.mil

Use by the U.S. military.

.net

Used by networks and some companies

.us

Country code for interet page. May be any type of organization.

• Who published the page or site?
• Is there a personal name within the URL?
• Does the page represent a person, group, or organization?
• Who wrote the page?

A person?

An organization?

• Is the author an expert?
• What are the author's qualifications?
• Is there contact info for the author?

Why is this important?

Back to criteria.

• Look for a title.
• Look for sources of more info.
• Links page.
• Additional sites link.
• Related link.
• Bibliography link.
• Webliography link.
• Look for footnotes.
• Is special software needed to view material on the page?
• Is it available?
• Is it free?
• Does it cost money to see the material on the page?
• Is the page under construction?

• Is this original material?
• Previously published where?
• Abstracted from where?
• Print equivalent?
• If materials is from another source, has it been
• copied completely?
• altered?
• faked or forged?
• cited correctly?
• Is the page factual or opinion?
• Are there omissions in the topic?
• Do the links work and are they relevant?
• Does the level of the material reflect the author's qualifications?
• brief overview
• in-depth analysis
• Do the graphics and charts support the text?

Why is this important?

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• Look for accurate statements.
• Are words misspelled?
• Is correct grammar used?

• Can facts be verified in another source?

Why is this important?

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• Look for a date.

  Where?

  At the bottom?

  Near the navigation links?

  When was it created?

  When was it updated?

• Are the links to other sites?

  Are they current pages also?

  Are the links broken?

• Is the infomation on the page time sensitive?
• How important is "current" to the topic?

Why is this important?

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• Look for advertising.
• Look at what other people say about the page.

Use alexa.com to find info.

Copy/Paste the page URL into alexa.com's search box.

Evaluate for the following:

• Traffic rank.
• Contact info.
• Linking statistics.

Use a search engine to LINK: search the site.

Copy the page's URL.

Type link: in the search engine' search box.

Paste the URL. Truncate the URL as necessary.

Evaluate the list of sites that link to this web page.

• Is there an obvious bias?
• Political?
• Religious?
• Cultural?
• Ideological?
• Is only one point of view presented?
• Is the language or graphics inflammatory?

Why is this important?

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• Look for advertisements.
• Look for a shopping cart.
• Look for required site registration.
• Look for a mailing list.
• Look for a newsletter.

• What is the purpose?
• To sell?
• To inform?
• To persuade?
• To explain?
• Is the purpose stated clearly?
• Who is the audience?
• Children?
• General public?
• Scholars?
• Members of an organization?

Why is this important?

Back to criteria

• Why was this web page created?
• Does this web page have a credible author you can contact?
• Does this web page provide accurate information appropriately?
• Is this web page current and updated regularly?
• Does this resouce meet the requirement of the assignment?
• Is this web page the best resource for the assignment?