1. Site
a. Is the site recognized in the field?
b. Is the site suited to address the subject?
c. Who sponsors the site?
d. Is the author or web page creator biased by being affiliated with the web site?
e. Type of site? Remember, many domain names can be bought, including .org sites.
1) .com = commercial
2) .net = networking (or ISP)
3) .edu = educational
4) .gov = government
5) .mil = military
6) .org = organization
f. If the web page to which you are going is long, go to the root address up to the .com. What does the main home page tell you?
g. What is the value of this site when compared to other sites?
2. Author
a. Can you find the author or web page creator?
b. Does the author clearly show his position? Can you detect bias?
c. Can you find any biographical infromation about the page creator?
d. Any qualifications?
e. Any contact information?
3. Is there deent information current? Is there a date indicated anywhere? It may not necessarily need to be current. If you are researching something in the sciences or business, then it may need to be current. Papers of a historical or religious nature may not need current content. An article from the 1920s may be just as relevant today in those cases.
4. Graphics - Is the page more visual than textual? Do you see advertisements? If so, what kind? Sponsor ad or "buy this product" ad?
5. Links
a. Are they relevant to your topic?
b. Are they inward links (staying in that organization's site) or are they external (linking outside the organization)?
c. Anything unique about the links?
d. Is there any new or unique to the information on this web site?
6. Use of advertising
a. Does it seem appropriate?
b. Is there too much advertising?
7. Keyword stuffing - Some web sites have gibberish or one word that is repeatedly used ad nauseaum without any serious content or organization.
The stories below are "attention-getters." They really happened and you need to pay attention to what you whether it is an email or a journal article.
Think about the following.
1. Take a look at the following web sites. Are they true or not? You decide.
b. http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/
c. http://www.rythospital.com/2008/
e. http://www.northshorevisitor.com/activities/whale-watching.html
f http://www.thepregnancytester.com/
2. Which is likely to be a better web site if you are taking a trip to Branson, Missouri? One, both, or neither? Why?
2) http://www.cityofbranson.org/
3. To what extent, if any, would you trust an article found in Wikipedia?