V. Evaluation
Questions to ask:
- Who produced the information? What credentials does the author have?
- What motivates someone to publish on the Web? (e.g., .com sites want to sell you something)
- Who is the intended audience?
- What is the intended coverage of the source?
- How old is the information?
Technical hint for evaluating Web resources:
Truncate (cut off) the "URL" or location of the Web site to determine what computer or account the document resides on.
Example: http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/chiefs/chiefs-toc-view.html
^ ^ ^
| | |
The server or computer | The document
|
The directories or "folders"
By cutting off the URL after the computer name, one can determine that the server (computer) is run by
the Office of the Director of Central Intelligence. The ".gov" on the end of the computer means that it is a government site.
Other domain types:
.com = commercial
.org = organization
.edu = educational institution
.net = network
Sources for Evaluation Criteria
Exercise: Evaluate one of the following websites: