Transcript Evaluating Websites - PHD Peter Hay Development

Evaluating
Websites…
The truth is out there but so is the lie..
Why do we need to learn how to
evaluate websites?
• To become people who think critically about the
information that they find
• To find out if we can trust the information from the
source
• To find out if the source is worth using for a research
project
The quality of web resources
varies greatly.
• Free Web
– Public access
– No cost
• Deep Web
– By paid
subscription
– Password
accessible
Can I trust what I find on the
internet? NO
• rarely subject to any kind of quality
control.
• anyone can publish anything on the
Web, whether it be true or false, up to
date or out of date, or subject to change
(example: Wikipedia).
• quality, validity and reliability are open to
question.
Criteria for evaluating
websites:
• C – Current
– (when it was published?)
• R – Relevant
– (is it valuable info?)
• A – Accurate
• A – Author
– (who wrote it?)
• P – Purpose
It is a student’s responsibility to
confirm that every source used
is reliable.
Every time you evaluate or
look at a website you
should go through the test:
C.R.A.A.P.
Note: This word is only allowed to be used in this
class when evaluating a website
C is for Current
• Is it current?
• How can you tell if the information is current?
• Check the ___________________
What to look for:
• When the resource was originally produced (A
publication date)
• Whether the resource has been updated? (A
“last updated” date at the foot of the page)
DATE
R is for Relevant
• Does it relate to my research?
• Is it at my reading level?
Prove it
A is for Accurate
• Is the information based on facts?
• How do you know?
Are the facts real?
A is for Author
• Who is the author?
• Are they an expert?
• If there is no author, who sponsored the site?
(a company, university, organization, e.g.
NASA
Author
Who wrote it.
What to look for:
Author's or organization's name
Details about how to contact the author
An About Us section
The author's qualification to write in the topic?
Source
• Where the resource is from
What to look for:
• Is it someone’s personal page?
– A tilde (~) usually indicates a personal page
within a website
• Is it a page posted by a student in another
school?
• What type of domain does it come from
– .edu educational institutions
– .com commercial organizations
– .org non-governmental, non-profit
organizations
Problems with author’s not
having authority or
expertise
• No expertise necessary to publish on the
web.
• Even when an author’s name is provided,
qualifications are not usually given.
• Sponsorship is difficult to determine.
P is for Purpose
• What is the purpose of the website and who is the
intended audience?
• Think P.I.E.
• P – Persuade. Is it trying to persuade you?
• I – Inform. Is it trying to inform you?
• E – Entertain. Is it trying to entertain you?
To persuade? Inform?
Entertain?
Purpose
What to look for:
• Who are the intended users of this resource: general
readers, students (what level?), specialists, professionals,
or researchers?
• Why was this website created? (remember P.I.E.)
• Links to related websites are provided.
Always ask yourself:
Does it pass the C.R.A.A.P.
Test? Why or why not?
Bibliography
• The IntegrationStation 14 Sept., 2005 <
http://www.jh.retsd.mb.ca/rbl>
• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. 14 Sept., 2005
<http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/eval.htm>
• Internet for English. 14 Sept., 2005
<http://www.vts.rdn.ac.uk/tutorial/english>
• Evaluating Internet Resources 14 Sept., 2005
<http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic32.htm>
• Evaluating Web Pages: A WebQuest 14 Sept., 2005
<http://mciunix.mciu.k12.pa.us/~spjvweb/evalwebteach.
html>
• Gallery of Hoax Websites 14 Sept., 2005
<http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoaxsites.html>
• What’s the Truth got to do with it? 14 Sept., 2005
<http://web.fvdes.com/teacher_resources/Web_Eval_TL/P
ages/Slide001.htm>
• Evaluating Selecting and Citing Web Sources 14 Sept.,
2005
<http://teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/classrooms/gayl
e/evaluate/evaluate.html>