Evaluating Web Sites

Use this list of criteria to help you identify web sites that may be useful for scholarly research.

Authority

Who is responsible for the page and what are his or her credentials? The name of the person(s) who created the page(s) may be found in introductory matter or somewhere at the end of the page. Look also to see if the creator's job title and/or institutional affiliation is given. If the creator's authority is in doubt you may be able to verify the affiliation information through other sources such as directories. You can also check scholar's credentials by finding out what else he/she may have published; see a reference librarian for help with this.

This example shows the author's bio. (click on the link to her name)

Another site with a bio.

Click on the link "Why this site was created" to view information about who created the site.

This site has no immediately apparent attribution.

Purpose

Is the purpose to entertain? To inform in a journalistic manner? To disseminate new ideas or research? Sometimes the purpose is explicitly stated but other times you will need to interpret the web page(s) to ascertain the purpose based on other criteria for determining authority.

Is the purpose of this site to exhibit or inform--or both?

This example speaks very nicely to the purpose of the site.

Reviews

Is the site (favorably!) reviewed by any reputable sources? Choice magazine, a review journal for college libraries, reviews web sites as do many other scholarly and popular periodicals. Web sites bearing emblems or icons displaying "Best Web Site" awards may not always be the best, rather they may have just received more publicity than other sites.

This Harlem Renaissance site has an extensive list of reviews.

What sources are cited?

Look for references cited list or a bibliography. Sometimes cited references appear as footnotes which are actually links to the reference so you will need to click on the links to view the references.

This example has a link to a "works cited" list.

Audience

Intended for a general audience or for scholars? Student or experienced scholar? Can you tell from the level of writing to whom the page is intended? The criteria under Authority above may help you determine this also.

The intended audience in this site is apparent.

Timeliness/Currency

How recently was the page updated? Is the most current information presented? Update information usually appears either at the top (beginning) of the page or at the bottom (end). If too many links are out of date and do not work this may indicate that the page hasn't been updated in a while.

Relevance

Ask yourself: What do I need? Even if a web site is not entirely a scholarly endeavor there may still be useful information to be gleaned from it depending on your needs: Opinion? Fact? Advertising? Scholarly works? Personal experiences? Technical information? As with all information sources, evaluate the page with your needs in mind.