When you use any
type of information, you need to evaluate it in terms of its quality and suitability
for your topic.
Critical evaluation is most important
when you use the Internet because anyone can publish on the
web, and there are no
filtering processes, quality checks or standards applied.
 |
Activity - Take a look at the Library
"How-to" Guide Internet Resource Evaluation. It provides a list of criteria you should always examine to decide about the quality of resources found on the Internet. |
| Evaluation
Worksheet |
|
For each criteria,
answer the questions with "yes" or "no" answer
only. If the question does not apply to your site, leave
the answer space blank.
- A high proportion of "yes" answers indicates
that the page under consideration is a reputable
one and suitable
for your purposes.
- Conversely, a high proportion of "no" answers
indicates that the page under consideration is not a
reputable one and
you should reject it.
If you have a roughly even mixture of "yes" and "no" answers,
you should err on the side of caution and reject the page.
|
| Title of
web page: |
| Internet
address (URL): |
| CRITERIA |
QUESTION |
Yes or No |
AUTHOR
(A person or a corporate body such as a government department
or other institution) |
Can you identify an author
(personal or corporate)? |
|
Is there information about
the author's qualifications or educational background?
Are these appropriate to the topic under discussion? |
|
| Is contact information for
the author included? |
|
| If there is a corporate author,
is the organisation a scholarly or reputable authority in the area being
discussed? |
|
| WEB SITE |
Check the URL (internet address).
Is it hosted by a reputable body such as an educational
institution, or a government department? |
|
| Are the institutional goals
or values made clear in the page or elsewhere on
the website? |
|
| DATE |
Is it current? |
|
| Does the page include the dates
when updates were made? |
|
| Does the information cover
an appropriate time span? |
|
| CONTENT |
Does the page give adequate
coverage of the topic? |
|
| Does the information tie in
with other reputable information you already have on the
topic? |
|
| Has bias been avoided i.e have alternative views been presented? (If undecided - please discuss further in the comments section.) |
|
| Is the target audience appropriate to the level of your research? |
|
| Are the conclusions drawn based
soundly on the evidence presented? |
|
| Is the information backed up
with data or graphs where appropriate? |
|
| STYLE |
Is the format and length of
the document appropriate for the level of information? -
(in-depth study or brief overview) |
|
| Is the language used appropriate
for the type of information being conveyed? |
|
| BIBLIOGRAPHY |
Does the page list some references
to back up the information conveyed? |
|
| If references are given, are
they from a scholarly or reputable source. |
|
|
Final evaluation
and comments:
Total YES ..........
Total NO ..........
|
