This document provides guidance on how to evaluate websites for credibility and quality in order to determine if they are appropriate sources to cite for school assignments. It recommends using the Five W's - Who, What, When, Where, Why - as a framework to analyze the author's credentials, purpose of site, date of publication, domain type, and sources cited. Students are reminded to consider more than one website and also use print resources, as the quality of sources impacts teachers' evaluation of student work. Being a careful evaluator is important for making informed decisions.
17. Personal page or belongs to a major institution? (Clues pointing to a personal page: ~ tilde, %, users, members) For example: http://personal.statecollege.edu/~ejv114/
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20. About us, Who Am I, Contact Us, FAQs, For More, Company Information, Profiles, Our Staff, Home
56. What courses should I take in high school in order to be prepared for college?You want to be able to ensure the information you choose is reliable, credible, current, balanced, relevant, and accurate!
57. Just as you evaluate your sources . . . Your teacher will evaluate your work based on the quality of the sources you select. Evaluate carefully. Don’t settle for good enough! Quality always counts!
Does it have section headings? Can you easily return to home or jump to another section of the site? Can you search the site? Are there graphs, charts, pictures that help understand the text? Is the site well-designed and readable?Are there a lot of ads that distract? What kinds of ads appear on the site?
com=commercial sites (vary in their credibility).gov=U.S. government site.org=organization, often non-profit. Some have strong bias and agendas.edu=school or university site (is it K-12? By a student? By a scholar?).store=retail business.int=international institutionac=educational institution (like .edu).mil=U.S. military site.net=networked service provider, Internet administrative site.museum=museum.name=individual Internet user.biz=a business
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