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Evaluating Web Pages
What? What did you find when you performed
your search? Was it relevant to what you were looking for? You may
have found information that is interesting, but unless the page you
are looking at can answer your question you should move on to another
source.
Who? Today it is possible for almost
anyone to create a web page. The Internet does not have the traditional
controls of the publishing industry. Take a look at the web page and
see if you can determine who wrote it. What makes this person qualified
to distribute the information you are looking at? Does the page provide
you with a way to find out more about this person? Don't go too far
and rule out information just because an author's name is not apparent,
look for other things that might lend credibility to the page.
Where? Where did the page you are looking
at come from? Take a look at the Web address and see what domain it
came from. Here are the most common:
.com Commercial
.gov United States Government
.edu Education
.net Internet related
.org Organization
.us United States
Not only is it important to take into account where on the Web your
information came from, but also where in the world. If you are looking
for information on Paris, make sure you know if you are looking at
information on Paris, France rather than Paris, Indiana.
When? When was the Web page you are evaluating
created or updated? This information can be important if you are looking
for current events, or if your topic changes often. You wouldn't want
things like medical information to be outdated, so be aware of when
the page was last modified. Update information is often at the very
bottom of the page.
Why? Why is the page you are looking
at on the Internet? Has an expert in the field put it there for the
good of humanity? Has a consumer created it to express their problems
with a company? Has a company created a Web site in order to sell
their products? Try to be aware of the motivation behind the creation
of a Web page so you can determine the usefulness of the page to your
need for information.
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