Purpose

Audience

Consider the intended audience of the page, based on its content, tone and style.

Is it consistent with your needs?

Consider the Source

Web search engines often retrieve many results, from memos, advertisements, to scholarly documents.

Many of the retrieved items may be useless for your research.

Source

Author/producer is identifiable.

Author/producer may or may not have expertise on the subject. Check website for background information on author of page or site.

Sponsor/location of the site is appropriate to the material as shown in the URL:

Examples:

.edu for educational or research material

.gov for government resources

.com for commercial products or commercially sponsored sites

.org for organizational sponsored sites

.net for networked sites

~NAME in URL may mean a personal home page who may or may not be affiliated with a larger institution.


Content

Accuracy

Evaluate the information presented.

Web sites are rarely reviewed by editors, educators, librarians, etc.

Look for point of view or evidence of bias. Source of the information should be clearly stated, whether original or borrowed from elsewhere.

Comprehensiveness

Depth of information: determine if content covers a specific time period or aspect of the topic, or strives to be comprehensive.

Use additional print and electronic sources to complement the information provided

Currency

Check to see if site has been updated recently, as reflected in the date on the page

Check to see if material contained on the page is current.

Links

Links should be relevant and appropriate.

Don't assume that the linked sites are the best available. Be sure to investigate additional sites on the topic.

Layout

Site should be laid out clearly and logically with well-organized subsections.

Writing style should be appropriate for the intended audience.

Site should be easy to navigate, including:

Clearly labeled Back, Home, Go To Top icons/links

Internal indexing links should be available if pages are too lengthy.

Links to remote sites work properly.

Search capability should be offered if the site is extensive.