EVALUATING WEBSITES

Digital Literacy

Digital Research Skills: Evaluating Websites

Good digital research skills include the ability to sift through information, discerning:o what is reliable, o what is current, o what suits your purpose ando what is written with authority.

There are some pneumonics that can help us to remember the points we need to take into account.

The C.R.A.P. testThis pneumonic is developed from the CRAAP test, which offers a list of

questions to help you evaluate the information you find.)

This is a way to evaluate a source based on four criteria:

You can apply some basic questions to help you assess each of the above criteria

Currency (timeliness of the information)

* How recent is the information? * How recently has the website been

updated? * Is it current enough for your topic?

Reliability (or correctness of the content)

* What kind of information is included in the resource?

* Is content of the resource primarily an opinion? * Is it balanced? * Does the creator provide references or sources

for data or quotations?

Authority(the source of the information)

* Who is the creator or author of the site? * What are the credentials of those

responsible? * Who is the publisher, source or sponsor? * Are all of the above reputable? * What is the publisher’s interest (if any) in

this information?* Are there advertisements on the website?

Purpose or Point of View

* Is the information fact or opinion? * What is the purpose of the information? (to

inform, to educate, to persuade)* Does the point of view seem biased or

objective and impartial?* Is the creator/author trying to sell you

something?

The R.E.A.L. testAnother easy guide for evaluating websites

Read the URL (domain name).

Examine the contents.

Ask about the author or owner and publisher. Look at the links.

The R.E.A.L. testAnother easy guide for evaluating websites

• What can you tell from the common extensions? Eg :com (commercial) .edu (educational) .gov (government) .org (non-profit organization) .net (network) AND sites designations eg. .au (Aust), .uk (United Kingdom) • Are you on a personal page?

Read the URL (domain name).

Image: [CC-BY-SA] Frank is the logo "mascot" of the Twin Lakes Library System by Dread-librarian (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The R.E.A.L. testAnother easy guide for evaluating websites

Examine the contents.

• Can you understand it? • Is it useful and does it relate to your topic? • Have you cross-checked it for accuracy and reliability?

Does it differ from other information you have found elsewhere?

• Are additional resources and links provided? Do these links work?

• Is the site currentBy David Vignoni - http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/sources/gnome-themes-extras/0.9/gnome-themes-extras-0.9.0.tar.gz, LGPL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=739586

The R.E.A.L. testAnother easy guide for evaluating websites

Ask about the author and/or owner and publisher. o Is there any biographical information?

o Can you contact the author? o What expertise do they have? o Do they seem to be an expert?o What kinds of results do you see when you do a search on the author's name?

CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1102314

The R.E.A.L. testAnother easy guide for evaluating websites

Look at the links. • Are these relevant? • Where do they take you?• What are the URLs of these links?• Do the domain names change?• Why are they linked?

By https://pixabay.com/en/users/PublicDomainPictures-14/ - https://pixabay.com/en/cartoon-eyes-look-looking-anatomy-313457/, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44301301

Bibliography for evaluating websites

"Evaluating Sources - Use the C.R.A.P. Test!" Amy E. Gratz. Mercer University, 08 July 2015. Web. 07 Oct. 2016. <https://libraries.mercer.edu/research-tools-help/citation-tools-help/evaluating-sources>.

"LibGuides: CRAP Test: Evaluating Websites" South Mountain Community College Library, 29 Feb. 2016. Web. 07 Sept. 2016. <http://libguides.southmountaincc.edu/CRAPtest>.

"LibGuides: Evaluating Web Pages: Questions to Consider: Categories ." Cornell University Library, 10 Aug. 2016. Web. 11 Sept. 2016. <http://guides.library.cornell.edu/evaluating_Web_pages>.

McKenzie, Jamie. "Comparing & Evaluating Web Information Sources." Comparing & Evaluating Web Information Sources. FNO Press, June 1997. Web. 07 July 2015. <http://fromnowon.org/jun97/eval.html>.

Oddone, Kay. "Getting ?REAL? with Web Evaluation ? Tips and Tools to Develop Information Literacy." LinkingLearning. Kay Oddone., 02 Mar. 2015. Web. 07 July 2016. <https://linkinglearning.wordpress.com/2014/10/03/getting-real-with-web-evaluation-tips-and-tools-to-develop-information-literacy/>.

Schrock, Kathy. "Critical Evaluation." Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything. N.p., 09 Sept. 2016. Web. 12 Sept. 2016. <http://www.schrockguide.net/critical-evaluation.html>.

The C.A.R.P. testA third easy guide for evaluating websites

Currency Authority

Reliability Purpose

CARP

What point would you put in under each of these headings?