How to Evaluate a Website

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You can find anything you can imagine on the internet! It’s such a helpful tool to research any subject. However, not everything online is accurate or helpful. When you use a website, it’s important to evaluate it using 5 criteria. Check to determine if it is current, accurate, authoritative, objective, and comprehensive. Once you know what to look for, you can quickly figure out whether a site is helpful or not. You can also change up the way you search so that you can get even better results. Whether you’re researching for school or work or just to gain more credible information, you can rest assured that you’re getting good information. If you have your own website, you can use the same criteria to make sure that you're providing good information.

Method 1
Method 1 of 3:

Determining if the Website is Authoritative and Objective

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  1. A reputable site should clearly indicate who the author is. Check the top and bottom of the page to find this information. If it is a person’s name, it should also indicate their credentials, like “MD” if the person claims to be a doctor. Keep in mind that the author might also be an organization or institution, like the Mayo Clinic or the University of Kansas. [1]
    • If a website is authoritative, the author's information will often also include contact details, such as an email address or phone number.
    • If you can’t figure out who wrote the website, it’s probably not a good idea to rely heavily on the information presented.
    • An exception to that is some wikis. Wikis (like this one) are sites where many community members might add to an article. Even though you won't be able to find an author's name, you can check credibility by looking at the sources. Sometimes there will also be a note that the article has been expert verified.
  2. Part of determining if the source is authoritative includes making sure that it has reliable facts. Check to see if any statistics and other facts are backed up by sources. If no sources are listed, that is a red flag. It might mean that the facts are made up or unverified. [2]
    • If you have any doubts, check another source to see if the facts can be verified.
    • Look at spelling and grammar. If there are a lot of basic errors, the page might not have a very credible author. A professional will usually proofread and make sure their page looks professional.
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  3. Read through the homepage to see if you can figure out if there is any potential bias. When you are doing research, it’s a good idea to look for a site that simply presents facts without trying to persuade readers. For example, a website that is written by someone opposed to vaccinations is probably not the best place to learn scientific information. Ask yourself questions such as: [3]
    • Is this site selling something?
    • Is the information presented from only 1 point of view?
    • Does the site attempt to persuade the reader to think a certain way?
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Method 2
Method 2 of 3:

Seeing if the Site is Current and Comprehensive

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  1. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the “Last updated” information. This will tell you when the site was last changed. If the date is from a few years ago, try to find a more current source. The information could be outdated. [4]
    • If there are links on the page, check those, too, to see if those pages are up to date.
    • Keep in mind that it will depend on the topic as to how current you need the information you need to be. If you’re looking for information on climate change, for example, it should be updated within the last couple of months. But if you’re just looking for a recipe for spaghetti, it’s okay to go with older information.
  2. A good site will typically link to other resources as a way to provide additional information. The links might take you to another page on that site or to another useful site. Click on a few links to get a sense of how much information is available. If there aren’t any outside links, that doesn’t necessarily make a site bad. It just means you might want to look for additional information. [5]
    • For example, maybe you are reading about climate change. The site might link to helpful resources about things like statistics or predictions.
  3. It’s easy to start browsing the internet and find yourself looking at something totally different than what you set out to find. When you are doing research, make sure that the site you are reading has information that will be useful to you. [6]
    • If you’re doing a project about politics in the 1960s, it might be tempting to start reading about every member of the Kennedy family. Make sure to stay on track and look at pages that specifically discuss politics during that era.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 3:

Finding Useful Sites

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  1. Search engines typically yield millions of results. While this might seem good at first, it can be overwhelming to try to sort through all of the websites and determine which are the best. For this reason, it’s best to use search engines for information that is pretty general. For example, you might use a search engine to look for “local news”, but if you’re looking for scholarship on the importance of bees, it’s best to try another route. [7]
    • For instance, if you're just looking for an easily identifiable fact, such as the population of Australia, you don't need to use anything more sophisticated than a search engine.
    • Popular search engines include Google , Bing, and Yahoo.
    • If you use Google, try Google Scholar to get more credible returns.
  2. Keywords are the words you type in the search bar to bring up results. To get the most accurate hits, make your words as precise as possible. For example, if you want to learn about a golden retriever, type that in instead of “dog.” [8]
    • Use more than 1 search engine so that you turn up as many results as possible.
  3. A subject directory is organized by human beings, often librarians. This is different than a search engine, which relies solely on technology to come up with results. If you know exactly what you are looking for, a subject directory might be your best bet. Common subject directories include: [9]
    • Base-Search
    • TheNerdWorld
    • MiningCo
  4. The information in databases is targeted to a specific audience and is authoritative. Databases are not free, so you’ll need to access them through a library. Ask the librarian at your school or local library to help you. In the database, you can search for academic articles in the sciences and the humanities. [10]
    • Academic Search Complete and JSTOR are 2 of the most popular databases.
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      Tips

      • It’s okay to just browse the internet and read for fun. But if you need accurate information, make sure to evaluate the website.
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      • Alway look for more than 1 source when you’re doing research.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/library/CoreSkills/6_Criteria_for_Websites.pdf
      2. ↑ https://etc.usf.edu/techease/win/internet/how-can-my-students-know-if-a-web-source-is-reliable/
      3. ↑ https://cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/library/CoreSkills/6_Criteria_for_Websites.pdf
      4. ↑ https://salve.libguides.com/researchguide/evaluatewebsites
      5. ↑ https://cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/library/CoreSkills/6_Criteria_for_Websites.pdf
      6. ↑ https://www.ccri.edu/library/help/evalsites.html
      7. ↑ https://salve.libguides.com/researchguide/evaluatewebsites
      8. ↑ https://www.infoplease.com/homework-help/homework-center-finding-information-internet-using-search-engines
      9. ↑ https://salve.libguides.com/researchguide/evaluatewebsites
      1. ↑ https://salve.libguides.com/researchguide/evaluatewebsites

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