Accessibility, Availability.
How accessible is the
information? How easy is it to
find and use? How much time
does it take to access the
resource? How stable is the
information resource or its
provider? Will it be available
again if you need it at a
later date? Be aware that some
Internet information can be
very transitory or short
lived. Also, does the site
allow for reasonable download
time? If a site is rated by
you as excellent in all other
aspects, it would remain an
unusable site if it required
an unreasonable wait time just
to see it. Consistently slow
access to a site may be due to
a high volume of traffic to
the site. In this case, it
would be an option for the
site server to "beef
up" on their hardware to
allow for more connections or
for you to view the site
offline. Access to the site
may also be slowed by too many
graphics. Webauthors should
limit the number of graphics
to those that are necessary
for the content. Additionally,
graphics might be compressed
or saved in the format which
allows for desirable viewing
with minimum file size.
Finally, is the site
accessible to those with
disabilities (e.g., large
print and graphics options;
audio; alternative text for
graphics)?
Are facts documented?
Does the information contained
in the site confirm
information from other
sources? Are the other sources
clearly cited and/or linked?
Authoritativeness,
Scholarship. Who wrote,
created or published the
information? How easy is it to
clearly identify the authority
of the authors? Is the author’s
perspective culturally
diverse, or narrowly focused?
How well has the author
documented the sources of the
information presented? Does
the site provide contact
information for the author,
especially a link to his/her
e-mail?
Balance, Objectivity, Bias,
Accuracy. What is the
intended purpose of the
information? Why is the
information being presented,
or made available? What is the
perspective of the
publication(s)? Is the
information presented
accurately and objectively?
How can you tell? What clues
are present to help you judge?
Cost. Is the
information free, or is there
a fee for the information? Is
the cost worth having the
information and time saved?
Also remember, information isn’t
free if it takes too much of
your time to find, print, read
or manage. With so much
Internet information
available, it is easy to
suffer from information
anxiety. Before clicking on a
link, decide whether further
investigation of the site
satisfies your research needs
or simply your curiosity? When
in doubt, you might download
the information for later
perusal instead of immediately
studying it.
Ease of navigation.
Does a site leave you buried
deep somewhere without any
hope of getting back to
another of its pages? A site
should be easy to explore and
review. Navigation that
changes to reflect your
current location (by dimming
out the navigation button for
your present location, using a
different color for the
current link, or providing a
clear header that tells where
you are) helps people to
orient themselves. This sort
of feedback may be simple, but
it’s also a valuable tool
for users. It’s important
that people know where they
are, where they can go, and
how they will get back to
where they started (Websitejournal,
1998). Also, is the site laid
out clearly and logically with
well organized subsections?
Does the site include an index
which includes all available
information in an outline
form? If the site is
especially large, does it
include a search engine which
can point to keywords directly
within the site?
Format. Can you clearly
identify what type of
information it is? Is it a Web
Home page? Is it a newsgroup
posting? Is it a file or
downloadable software? Is it a
government report? Is it an
advertisement? Is the
information in an appropriate
or useful format for your
needs? Does it have the
features you need? How
complete is the information?
Links. Are links
relevant and appropriate? Be
sure to investigate additional
sites on the topic before
assuming that the linked sites
are the best available. Also,
are links up to date or do
they point to sites which no
longer exist or have moved
(i.e., broken links)?
Originality. Is it
primary information or
secondary information? Is the
originality of the information
important for your research?
Pervasiveness. Is this
a site that others have found
helpful and useful? Has the
site been awarded recognition
by reputable organizations as
evidenced by an award icon?
Does a search of the site’s
URL produce results which
indicate that other sites
reference the site in
question?
Quality. Evaluate the
content: What kind of
information is it? Is it facts
or opinions? Is there any
documentation? Does the
information support or refute
your position? Are any major
findings presented? How does
the information compare to
other related sources? Most
important, is the text well
written?
Search Engine Rank. Put
some keywords relevant to the
website into a search engine
and see where the particular
site ranks. Of course, higher
ranks probably indicate a more
popular website which may
underscore other evidence that
already supports it. Relatedly,
you can see how many other
websites are linked to the
site in question by using the
Backwards Links feature of
most popular search engines.
For instance in Google, put
the website address in the
search field and then click on
[Find web pages that link to
...].
Security. If you need
to transmit confidential or
otherwise sensitive
information, does the site
incorporate encryption over a
secure server?
Timeliness. When was
the information produced? Is
the information too old, or
too new for the needs of your
research?
Usefulness. How useful
is the information for your
particular need? If you can’t
identify it’s usefulness
immediately, it should be
considered a low priority to
save, print or read online.
