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Evaluate Website Content

Tools For Evaluating Websites

This guide will help you evaluate resources you find on the World Wide Web. If you have any questions about the research process and/or evaluating websites, please don't hesitate to ask a librarian for assistance. You can reach a Reference Librarian at 641-4173 or by email at unhm.library@unh.edu. If you are in the Library, ask for assistance at the Reference Desk. The UNHM librarians are here to help you with your research and to answer any questions that you may have regarding our resources and how to use them.

UNH librarians have developed an online library research tutorial — InfoBoost — comprised of six modules to introduce you the basics of information literacy and to assist in navigating the UNH library. Each module takes approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. For an interactive introduction to using and evaluating the WWW, try InfoBoost Module 5: Using the Web.

Introduction

With billions of websites on the Internet, finding the best quality ones can be a challenge, to say the least! When conducting research, it is especially important to evaluate the quality of Internet resources. It is your responsibility as the researcher to verify the credibility of the websites that you use, so let the reader beware! Because anyone can create a website, you shouldn't use "any old" website for your research. Below you will find a list of things to consider when evaluating websites to determine whether or not they are worthy of including in your research.

Accuracy/verifiability

Anyone can publish anything on the Internet. When you take a look at this website below, you will see that something may appear official at first glance but may not be up to snuff (or may even be a hoax!):

http://www.dhmo.org/

When trying to determine the accuracy and verifiability of a website, take the following questions and thoughts into consideration:

  • Is the information from a reputable source? Reputable websites might include official university websites, government websites, websites of reputable news or nonprofit organizations, or websites of other organizations that were reputable before the Internet became popular.
  • Can you verify or confirm the information elsewhere? Try to verify the information on another reputable website or research database.
  • Look for the presence of citations that include detailed information. Citation information should be as detailed as possible.
  • Know the difference between a webmaster and an author. The author writes the content of a page; the webmaster manages the "behind the scenes" technical updates to the page.
  • Is there anyone you can contact about the content of the page? Reputable websites will provide their contact information and should include an email address, phone number, and mailing address.
  • Look for links to the author's website document from another website you trust. Reputable websites aren't afraid to link to other reputable websites.

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Authority/authorship

  • Is the author mentioned elsewhere in a positive fashion by another author or person you trust as an authority? Try searching a general database such as Academic Search Premier to find references to the author: what can you discover about the author?
  • Does the website contain biographical information about the author, including his or her credentials? Do the author's credentials show the individual to be an authority on a topic?
  • Look at the "About us" section. What are the qualifications of the organization and/or author?
  • Is it just a personal homepage? Is the website about the author's personal life, or is it hosted on a university department website or other reputable website? Webpages located on an author's personal website (even one of a professor or other expert) can be used, but should be used very cautiously.
  • Are there any metatags? Metatags are headers, footers, or distinctive watermarks that show the document to be part of an official academic or scholarly website.

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Objectivity/bias

  • What is the purpose of the organization and/or its website? Is it biased? Look at the "About us" section and try to determine the organization's mission. Sometimes the mission will be clearly stated, sometimes not.
  • Keep in mind that websites with extremist points of view are often designed to look legitimate in order to fool you into thinking they are credible. Remember the definition of propaganda: "a specific type of message presentation aimed at serving an agenda...propaganda pretends to be from a neutral source, but comes from an adversary" (http://www.wikipedia.org). In other words, read between the lines. Just because something appears to be neutral doesn't mean it is. For example, a corporate website will have very positive things to say about itself on its own website.
  • Is there advertising on the website or the websites it links to? What kind of websites are they linking/directing you to? Advertising on a website indicates a potential for biased information and perhaps an ulterior motive.
  • Is the issue covered a controversial issue? Organizations covering a controversial issue are likely to have a bias either way. Look for informational websites on controversial issues that strive to present a fair and balanced view of both sides of the issue.

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Currency

  • Does the page have a date on it? A website should tell you when it was last updated (both date and time if possible). Frequently updated and current information can be very important and even essential. For example, outdated medical information on the Internet can potentially be dangerous.
  • What is the date actually referring to? Is the date the day the web page was originally uploaded? The day it was updated? If the website contains something previously published (a book chapter, for example) then perhaps the date refers to the publication date of the book. Try to determine what exactly the date is referring to.
  • Do the links on the page work or are they "dead"? Usually, a page linking to websites that no longer exist is in desperate need of updating.
  • Does the website indicate when the research presented was conducted? For example, statistical charts should include when the statistics were gathered (2000 US Census? poll conducted during month of July 2003?). This information might be included right in the chart or in the citation.
  • Do websites that are updated regularly indicate when updates occur? On websites where the frequency of updates is very important, they should indicate the schedule of updates (twice a day? every hour? every 5 minutes?)

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Coverage/accessibility and extent of coverage

  • What is the extent of the coverage and do the site's creators make it easy for you to find out? Is the website giving you the whole issue "in a nutshell" or are they focusing on a certain aspect of the issue? If you are unfamiliar with a topic, it might be difficult to put what you're learning into the context of "the big picture." Look at the introduction or "About" section to see if the site puts the information into context for you.
  • Is it free? Do you have to pay or register to access the information or is it freely available? Sometimes the information may be worth paying for, but check with the Library Reference Desk before you pay to access any information online — we may already have paid for you!
  • Do you need to download special software? Do you have to download special software before you can access the information? Is it prohibitively large, expensive, or time-consuming to download?
  • What does the page contribute to the study of the topic? Does the page contribute anything valuable to the topic, or is the coverage shallow and just rehashing everyone else's websites?
  • Is there a "text-only" option or suggested browser? A website should indicate which browser (and which versions of that browser) it is most compatible with. Also, is the site offered in a text-only version? A text-only site is often easier to search and navigate, and is more accessible to users of non-Windows-based platforms.

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For further information on evaluating websites, check out the following resources

Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply and Questions to Ask (via the University of California at Berkeley Library)

Evaluating Information Found on the Internet (via the Johns Hopkins University Library)

For an interactive introduction to using and evaluating the WWW, try InfoBoost Module 5: Using the Web.

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Visit UNH in Durham at www.unh.edu