Evaluating Online Information
ENG 201 – Ibarra – Spring 2009
Today you will learn how to…
1.
2.
Apply evaluative criteria to web sites in order
to analyze the validity of the information
contained within them.
Determine the probable accuracy of
information on the web by questioning the
source of the data.
Web Page Evaluation Criteria
1. AUTHOR
2. CURRENCY
3. ACCURACY
4. PURPOSE
EVALUATION CRITERIA #1
Authorship
Evaluation Criteria #1: Authorship
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Know where to look for an author
identification.
Evaluate the credentials of an author.
Distinguish sources of information by
domain.
Evaluation Criteria #1: Authorship
How to Identify an Author:
TIP! Right-click or ctrl +click to open these links in a new window or tab.
“Bad Subjects: Have We Put it All Behind Us?”
http://bad.eserver.org/issues/2004/71/churchill.html
“Black Panther Political Art”
http://cghs.dade.k12.fl.us/africanamerican/twentieth_century/panthers.htm
“Black Panther Party”
http://www.stanford.edu/~ccarson/articles/am_left.htm
Evaluation Criteria #1: Authorship
http://www.stanford.edu/~ccarson/articles/am_left.htm

http:// is the protocol or access method

www.stanford.edu is the domain or host name

.edu is the top level domain

~ccarson/articles/am_left.htm is the directory path
folder on the domain computer
Evaluation Criteria #1: Authorship
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.com – commercial
(for profit) entities
.org – nonprofit entities
.edu – educational
institutions
.gov – federal
government agencies

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
.mil – US military
.int – international
organizations
State or Country of origin
 .de
- Germany
 .ca.us – California, US
 .ca - Canada
Evaluation Criteria #1: Authorship
What to look for:

Who is responsible for the site?

Do the authors have authority on the topic?

Is it a commercial, governmental, personal, or
academic web site?
EVALUATION CRITERIA #2
Currency
Evaluation Criteria #2: Currency
Where to look for a source’s publication date:
TIP! Right-click or ctrl +click to open these links in a new window or tab.
“Bad Subjects: Have We Put it All Behind Us?”
http://bad.eserver.org/issues/2004/71/churchill.html
“Black Panther Party Political Art”
http://cghs.dade.k12.fl.us/africanamerican/twentieth_century/panthers.htm
“HIV and the Challenges Facing Men”
http://www.undp.org/hiv/publications/issues/english/issue15e.htm
EVALUATION CRITERIA #3
Accuracy
Evaluation Criteria #3: Accuracy
What to look for:

Where did the authors find their information?
http://www.ppu.org.uk/war/index.html (Peace Pledge Union)

Do the authors provide supportive evidence for their
conclusions? Works cited or bibliography?
http://www.undp.org/hiv/publications/issues/english/issue15e.htm
(HIV & the Challenges Facing Men)
EVALUATION CRITERIA #4
Purpose
Evaluation Criteria #4: Purpose
Why was the web page created?

To sell?
http://www.lifehealthsolutions.com/library3/disorders/hiv.htm
(Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome HIV/AIDS)

To inform?
http://www.undp.org/hiv/publications/issues/english/issue15e.htm
(HIV & the Challenges Facing Men)

To deceive? http://www.martinlutherking.org/
(Martin Luther King Jr.)
Evaluation Criteria #4: Purpose
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Always look at the domain and home page
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Search for an “about us” page

To uncover hoaxes:
SNOPES: Urban Legends Reference Pages
http://www.snopes.com
Email Hoax?
Hercules: The World’s Biggest Dog
Review Evaluation Criteria

Authorship

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
Currency

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Is the site out of date for your topic?
Accuracy

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Do the authors have training on the topic?
.com, .gov, .edu, .org site?
Works cited or bibliography?
Purpose

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Why was the web site created?
Is there an “about us” or “credits” section?
Your Task: Find and Evaluate a Web
Site on the Topic of Plagiarism
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Divide into groups of 3-5
Find a web page that discusses the topic of
plagiarism.
Evaluate the web page based on the four
evaluative criteria we just discussed in class.
Answer the question: Is this a good site to use for
college-level research? Why or why not?
Answer the question: How effectively does this page
use inductive reasoning?
Write one page summary of your findings and
create a presentation to share with the class.
A Couple of Search Tips…

Search for web pages within specific domains:
Use the search command site:.edu or site:.gov to limit
your search to educational or government web sites.

Search for specific document file types:
Use the command filetype:pdf or filetype:doc to limit
your search to Adobe PDF or Word files.
Domain Search
Example: “capital punishment” site:.edu
Filetype Search
Example: “capital punishment” filetype:pdf
Use advanced search instead of search
commands for the same result
Combine the two commands
Example:
“capital punishment” site:.edu filetype:pdf
Visit Rio Hondo Library
for all your research needs!
http://library.riohondo.edu/
QUESTIONS? 562-908-3484
Shawna Hellenius – shawna.hellenius@riohondo.edu