Authority |
Is the author of the site clearly identified?
Are the author's qualifications or expertise given?
Is there a link to information about the author?
Does the author provide an email address?
Does the URL domain indicate that the information comes from a reliable source? ( .edu, .gov, .org, .net) |
Anyone can publish anything on the web.
It is often hard to determine a web page's authorship.
Even if a page is signed, qualifications are not usually provided. |
| Currency |
Is the page dated?
Is the latest revison date provided?
Are links to other sites current and working properly?
Are there any dead links? |
Publication or revision dates are not always provided.
If a date is provided, it may have various meanings. For example,
It may indicate when the material was first written.
It may indicate when the material was first placed on the Web.
It may indicate when the material was last revised. |
Information Quality |
Is the purpose of this site clear?
(Business, entertainment, informational, news, personal, persuasion)
What audience is it intended for?
Is the site well organized?
Does the information meet all your needs?
If not, are there links to sources within the same web site? Outside the web site? Are these links reliable?
Is the information relevant and reliable?
Is the grammar and spelling correct?
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Unlike traditional print resources, web resources rarely have editors or fact-checkers.
Currently, no web standards exist to ensure accuracy.
Sometimes web information is "just for fun", a hoax, or someone's personal expression that may be of interest to no one. |
Objectivity |
Does the information show a minimum of bias or does the author have a particular opinion he is trying to convince you of?
If so, is this clearly stated and are opposing points of view also presented?
Is there any advertising on the page? |
Frequently the goals of the sponsors/authors are not clearly stated.
Often the Web serves as a virtual soapbox |
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