Evaluating Web Information
The
advent of the Internet has meant that not only is there information posted onto
the web to advise, inform and entertain, there is also an abundance of
misinformation that is available to anyone who has access to the web. There is no ruling body or charter of
standards to regulate the content that is posted to the web. The World Wide Web is subject to national and
international laws, but none specific to regulate content. Anyone can develop a
website, put information up whether it is correct or incorrect. This can also be done anonymously so that the
source of the information, whether it is true or not cannot be traced.
There
are a substantial number of websites that provide reliable, accurate and up to
date information. There is also a number
of websites that are untrustworthy, misleading and incorrect. It is the users responsibility to use
evaluation skills to determine legitimacy of websites and the information they
display. Ferguson (2005) lists 7
criteria to assist in evaluation;
1. Author – the author of the website should be visible on the website
as well as the qualifications he, she or they may have to support the
information they have posted. The contact details of the author should be
available.
“Remember to look for a
physical address and phone number – a simple email address is not sufficient if
you need to contact someone to verify information” (Ferguson, 2005).
2.
Publisher or sponsor – “It’s
essential to identify and evaluate the credentials and motivations of the
organization or people responsible for maintaining a website” (Ferguson, 2005).
3.
Inspect the URL – It’s a good
idea to see where the information is coming from. The URL can tell you whether the information
comes from an educational institution, a network provider, a government agency,
a non-profit organization or from commercial enterprise.
4.
Point of view/bias – it’s
important to establish the point of view of the author of the website and
whether their information is biased towards that point of view. It is ok for a website to present information
to reflect the point of view of the author, but it is up to the user to
establish whether the information presented suits their research needs.
5.
Accuracy and Reliability – is
the website well presented with information that can be verified? Is the information presented using correct
grammar and spelling? The visibility and
the reliability of the source of the information gives greater credibility to
the website.
6.
Currency – Is the information
as up to date as possible? Are there dates on the page? Has the page been consistently updated?
7.
Intellectual Property/Copyright
– “Copyright laws that protect intellectual property in the print publishing
world also protect intellectual property in the virtual realm. Most text and images that you find on the web
are copyrighted” (Ferguson, 2005).
Testing
the three-click rule.
The
three-click rule has long been talked about in relation to websites and finding
information. It has been said that, “if users can’t find what they’re looking for
within three clicks, they’re likely to get frustrated and leave the site”
(Porter, 2003).
I am
of the belief that if the information on your website is pertinent and
accurate, users will keep clicking.
There are some websites where 3 clicks is enough, and others where 3
clicks is just the beginning of an information odyssey. If you are searching for information and the
clicks you make are leading you in the right direction, keep clicking.
The Five W’s of Web Site Evaluation
Seeing Kathy Schrock’s Five W’s page
excited me. It is brilliant to see that
Information Literacy skills can be so obviously connected to writing, reading
and oral language. It makes sense for
everyone to be on the same page, and for classroom teachers and teachers to
share the same language.
If I was asking my class to write me a
story, or recount the events of a weekend, these are exactly the terms I would
use.
“Who
was there?”
“What
did you do?”
“When
did you do it?”
It also makes sense to begin teaching the
children these skills while they are in primary school. Teaching students effective learning habits,
particularly when they are using the Internet, encourages self-directed
learning and lifelong learning habits.
References
