Web Site Evaluation Assignment

 

Due in Class on _________________________

 

Your Name _______________________________________________________

 

Search and select a high-quality Web site about a paper topic you plan to write this semester.  Examine the Web site closely.  Use the five established evaluative criteria (accuracy, authority, currency, coverage, and objectivity) and associated questions below as a resource for completing this assignment.

 

Write a thorough typed double-spaced paper (at least 500 words) covering the Web site you identified.  Give specific examples from your Web site. Your grade on this assignment will be based on how well you incorporate your responses to all of the questions below, as well as how well you address the criteria (accuracy, authority, currency, coverage, and objectivity).

 

1)      What is your topic?

 

2)      What is the complete/full URL of your Web site?  Print out and attach the first page only of your Web site to your paper.

3)      How well does this Web site cover your specific topic or information need?  How useful will it be in your paper?  (Be specific.)

4)      How accurate is this Web site?  Are there spelling or grammatical errors?  Does the Web site contain outrageous or misleading information?

5)      Who wrote or sponsored this Web site?  Is it an educational, commercial, governmental, or organizational Web site?  What audience was the Web site written for?  Be sure to look in the Web site's header, footer, and any links for clues.

6)      How objective is the Web site?  Is a particular viewpoint presented in the Web site?  If so, what is the viewpoint?  If not, give evidence of how the Web site covers more than one viewpoint.  Be sure to state what viewpoints are covered.

Does the Web site present

·        Facts

·        Opinions

·        Both facts and opinions

Give at least one specific example of a fact and/or an opinion covered by the Web site.

7)      How current is this Web site?  When was the information first posted?  Has it been updated within the past year?  If present, how current are the sources cited or links contained in the Web site?

8)      What is the breadth and depth of the Web site's coverage?  What is its purpose?  Does it cover a highly specialized topic area in great detail, or does it merely provide a general overview of a broad topic?

9)      What are some steps you can take to verify the accuracy of the information contained in this website? (Be specific.)

  

 

Form reproduced from Buchanan, Lori E. "Assessing Liberal Arts Classes,"  in Assessing Student Learning Outcomes for Information Literacy Instruction in Academic Libraries, edited by Elizabeth Fussler Avery. Chicago: ACRL, 2003, p. 75