●Was the page put to inform or give facts? Is it an educational resource? Was the information put to explain, or to persuade something? Is there an economic value to this site, are they trying to sell something? Does this website fill any other personal, professional or social needs?
For example, if the purpose of the website is to persuade, then you should examine the material very closely before accepting it for a fact.
●Can this be ironic? Satire or parody? Think about the “tone” of the page. Is it humorous or is it a parody? Is it exaggerated? Are there outrageous photographs or unlikely images? “snopes.com” is a website that collects urban legends and Internet rumors. You can best use this site as a reference for validating photos.
●Is the information fact or opinion? Did they cite their sources? Check some of the references. Crosscheck information with at least two other sites. Can you find similar information in other reliable sources?
●Are there any reviews about this publication or website? Other evaluations can help you determine the credibility of the information.
●What is the intended audience? Who is the website address for?
5. Check Relevance & Context
Even if the information on the website is trustworthy, you still need to check if it is relevant to your needs. Try to understand the relevance by asking the following questions:
1.How is the information relevant to your research? The website may be cool, but is the content appropriate for your research needs?
2.Are the time period and geographic region relevant to your research?
The readability of the website plays an important role in context. If your content is too small or pale and it is not possible to read them well, then there’s no way for your message to get across.
Check general format and outlook
●Are the fonts readable?
●Are there spelling errors? Spelling and grammar mistakes probably mean that the web page is not trustworthy.
●Are there photos that are big or out of proportion?
●Does the website look professional?
Check consistency
●Do all the links work?
●If there are links to other pages as sources, are they reliable sources?
●Are the links well chosen, well organized?
●Do links represent other viewpoints?
●Is this site good for some things and not good for other?
Conclusion
If you still have some doubts, trust your instincts and make further inquiries. If something does not look right, it probably is not. If you are still having second thoughts on the validity of the website, please go back and revisit the questions listed above.
Additional Reading
Purdue Online Writing Lab: Evaluating Sources: Overview
Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Everything: Critical Evaluation of Information
References
Branham, C. (1997, March 27). Evaluating web pages for relevance. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.slu.edu/colleges/AS/ENG/cai/research/page01.html
Harvard guide to using sources. (2017). Evaluating Resources. Retrieved from https://usingsources.fas.harvard.edu/evaluating-sources
Quackit. (2017). Country domain extensions. Retrieved from http://www.quackit.com/domain-names/country_domain_extensions.cfm
Quackit. (2017). Domain name extension definitions. Retrieved from http://www.quackit.com/domain-names/domain_name_extension_definitions.cfm
SEQ Legal. (2017).Website Disclaimer. Retrieved from http://www.seqlegal.com/free-legal-documents/website-disclaimer
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