ENGL 2700.105: The Reading of Fiction (Spring 2009)  Tags: fiction english_literature american_literature short_stories literature  

Evaluating Web Pages: Questions to Ask & Strategies for Getting the Answers:

An eight-point evaluation checklist from the UC Berkeley Library.

What can the URL tell you?

Who wrote the page? Is he, she, or the authoring institution a qualified authority?

Is it dated? Current, timely?

Is information cited authentic?

Does the page have overall integrity and reliability as a source?

What's the bias?

Could the page or site be ironic, like a satire or a spoof?

If you have questions or reservations, how can you satisfy them?

"What we find changes who we become." -- Peter Morville, Ambient Findability

Be Critical. 

Analyze and evaluate your search results. Have you found the most authoritative, accurate, objective, up-to-date, scholarly information available on your research topic?

• Why critical thinking?

   

• How to Critically Analyze Information Sources lists some of the critical questions you should ask when you consider the appropriateness of a particular book, article, media resource, or Web site for your research.

   

• Distinguishing Scholarly from Non-Scholarly Periodicals: A Checklist of Criteria shows how to evaluate periodicals by looking at their format, intended audience, and appearance.

   

• Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools lists ways to analyze the Web sites you find.

• See Evaluating Web Resources for additional information.

   

• Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites offers a table of suggestions.