Group items tagged

In evaluating sites for which there is no immediate recognition factor, it is a good idea to start at the beginning - the web site address. The domain address itself will in many cases provide you with important information; .edu indicates the site should be sponsored by an academic institution, .gov or .us indicates sponsorship by the federal government or a state, .mil is a U.S. military site, .com or .net indicates a commercial site, .org is supposed to be for nonprofits (apparently not always the case), .info is a corporate information site, and sites located outside the U.S. use a two letter designation

sites of dubious value continue to flourish despite the fact that they do not meet quality standards acknowledged by professional organizations, or even readers at large. The web provides access to content that spans the spectrum from the good, to the bad, and extending to the downright ugly. Out of necessity, researchers have to be diligent in their efforts to evaluate sites with a critical eye.

In evaluating sites for which there is no immediate recognition factor, it is a good idea to start at the beginning - the web site address. The domain address itself will in many cases provide you with important information; .edu indicates the site should be sponsored by an academic institution, .gov or .us indicates sponsorship by the federal government or a state, .mil is a U.S. military site, .com or .net indicates a commercial site, .org is supposed to be for nonprofits (apparently not always the case), .info is a corporate information site, and sites located outside the U.S. use a two letter designation

regulation of domain names can be inconsistent, resulting in variations from specified designations

A web site’s name may or may not be useful in helping to establish its credibility, but a well recognized name often does confer a higher level of trust.

CARS (Credibility, Accuracy, Reasonableness, Support)

content on these sites is subject to a reasonably high level of editorial review, thereby increasing the confidence of readers.

Chances are that you will be also be inclined to trust the reliability of web site content published by academic institutions and federal government or state agencies in much the same manner.

In general however, verifying sources from these sites is less of an issue than with sites that indicate no discernable affiliation, and whose domain addresses offer little or no indication concerning the site’s content and origin.

First impressions are often the most important, so your immediate, visceral reaction to a web site is often a fairly good indicator as to whether you want to undertake a more thorough review to concretely establish its reliability and value. Initially, it is always advisable to take the site out for a test drive. This first-look should take you several levels down into the site so that you can adequately put it through its paces.

While you are reviewing the site, consider the following questions, the answers to which can contribute to your final decision to add the site to your ”must-read” list. 1. Is it a site that primarily publishes opinions or commentary? §         Is it a vanity site? §         Is it a site sponsored by a law firm or corporation? §         Is it a blog?  §         Is it an index that links to other sites and content?  §         Is it a webzine that publishes original content? §         Is it a news media or newspaper site? §         Is it an advocacy site? §         Is it an e-commerce site? What domain address does the site have (commercial, academic, government, military, etc.)? Is there a privacy statement?  Does the site require registration? §         Does the site collect basic or extensive data on users?  §         Do you feel comfortable providing such data? Is there a copyright notice on the site and its content? Is the site unique? Is the site always available and are the internal and external links reliable? Does the design, organization, navigation and overall “look and feel’ of the site indicate a professional effort?  Does the site publish original content, and if so, is it well researched, appropriately documented, and updated regularly as necessary? Is the content comprehensive in terms of coverage of the respective topics, well written and authoritative? Is information clearly posted throughout the site indicating the date on which content was published/updated? Is the content primary or secondary?  Does the site support an archive? Does the site provide an effective search engine to locate and access all the content? What are the credentials of

To synthesize this long checklist in to one that is easier to remember, you can use the acronym for a web site evaluation system

web sites owned by news media organizations and newspapers

Let’s start with some initial steps you can take to locate basic information about a site. You have identified a web site that you find interesting and informative. You have reviewed the questions above and answered many of them, but think it is appropriate to do some background checking. Where should you start?

There are free resources that will often provide domain registration information which includes the following; name, snail mail address, telephone number, fax number, email address, domain server data, the date the registration was entered and the date it expires, and in some cases, the latest date on which the site was updated.

Run searches on Google (http://www.google.com), iLor (http://www.ilor.com/, and AllTheWeb.com (http://www.alltheweb.com) for the web site owner(s) and/or authors whose articles are published on the site you are evaluating.  If you prefer other search engines, try them as well.  It is sound advice to always use more than one search engine (well worth the time and effort in terms of better results.)