Surfin' in Style: How to Find the Best of the Web | UMGC Effective Writing Center

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When you search for information on the web, most sites will fit into these categories:

Company Web sites--Good for information on products, services, staff, and the general organizational structure of the company.
Government Web sites--The U.S. government is the world's largest publisher and produces copious amounts of information in a variety of areas.
Organization Web sites--Good for information on the issues and points of view that an organization advocates; can often be useful in pro/con arguments.
Statistical Web sites--Statistical information and data sets from government and academic pages.

But what happens when you venture off into other places on the Wild Wild Web?

Answer: You take with you a set of evaluation skills and apply them.

Practice by finding a WWW site related to your topic that you think is either very reliable or not at all reliable. Use these criteria to say why you formed this judgment.

Criterion #1: Authority

Is it clear who is sponsoring the creation and maintenance of the page?
Is there information available describing the purpose of the sponsoring organization?
Is there a way of verifying the legitimacy of the page's sponsor? For instance, is a phone number or address available to contact for more information?
Is it clear who developed and wrote the material? Are his/her qualifications for writing on this topic clearly stated? Is there contact information for the author of the material?

Criterion #2: Accuracy

Are the sources for factual information given so they can be verified?
Is it clear who has the responsibility for the accuracy of the information presented?
If statistical data is presented in graphs or charts, are they labeled clearly?
Are there errors you can substantiate in the data presented?

Criterion #3: Objectivity

Is the page and the information included provided as a public service?
Is it free of advertising?
If there is advertising on the page, is it clearly separated from the informational content?
Are there any other signs of bias?

Criterion #4: Currency

Are there dates on the page to indicate the following:

When the page was written?
When the page was first placed on line?
When the page was last revised or edited?
Are there any other indications that the material is updated frequently to ensure currency of the data?
If the information is published in print in different editions, is it clear what edition the page is from?
Are the links on the page up-to-date?

Criterion #5: Coverage

Is there an indication that the page has been completed and is not still under construction?
If there is a print equivalent to the Web page, is there clear indication of whether the entire work or only a portion of it is available on the Web?
If the material is from a work that is out of copyright (as is often the case with a dictionary or thesaurus), has there been an effort to update the material to make it more current?
Is there any other evidence of omissions?
Does it cover the subject adequately?

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