Lesson 5:  Evaluating Web Pages

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 The first part of this lesson explained how to read web addresses, and it started out by analyzing the long URL (universal resource locator) of the tutorial (http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/pages/bones/bones.shtml).  It explained what each section of the URL meant.  I learned that "http" actually means hypertext transfer protocol and it refers to the format used to deal with information.  I already knew that "www" stood for World Wide Web and that it's not an essential part of the web address--some sites even choose not to use it at all.  I learned that URLs can contain a great deal of identifying information, including the domain name, the second-level domain name, the top-level domain name, the directory name, the sub-directory name, the folder and sub-folder names, and the file name. (If you are confused, don't feel alone--I was too, at this point) 

I learned that there are several top-level domains recognized on the web, and that this is changing as more are added.  Currently, the list includes:

• .edu -- educational site (usually a university or college)
• .com -- commercial business site
• .gov -- U.S. governmental/non-military site
• .mil -- U.S. military sites and agencies
• .net -- networks, internet service providers, organizations
• .org -- U.S. non-profit organizations and others (taken directly from http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/pages/bones/bones.shtml)

I also learned that in 2000, seven additional suffixes to be used by specific groups. These include:

• .aero -- restricted use by air transportation industry
• .biz -- general use by businesses
• .coop -- restricted use by cooperatives
• .info -- general use by both commercial and non-commercial sites
• .museum -- restricted use by museums
• .name -- general use by individuals
• .pro -- restricted use by certified professionals and professional entities (taken directly from http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/pages/bones/bones.shtml)

While learning all of these abbreviations and suffixes may seem tedious, it is necessary to understand at least the bare minimum about them when you start to analyze web sites for authenticity and credibility.  For example, if a website ends in ".gov" you can assume that the information is credible, because it a government authored site. 

One of the first steps in determining the level of authenticity of a web page is to find out as much as possible about its author.  Where can you find this?  Most websites will have a link that says "about us."  Click on that link to find out who authored the site--if you can't find it, then you might be wary about trusting the content contained in it.

Next, you should be able to get some important information about the site, and it should be easily accessible.  This information includes the date of the last update, a link where you can contact the owners of the site, as well as the name, address, phone number and email of the person who owns it.  If you can't find this information, and the author doesn't offer any credentials, you should be wary of the authenticity of the site. 

Another thing to consider when evaluating websites has to do with checking the content.  Keep in mind that just because information is posted on the internet, this doesn't make it accurate information!  Virtually anyone can obtain an internet domain and publish information to the World Wide Web, and a lot of people do.  This can be tricky, but some things to look for when checking the content include:

• Checking for bias and objectivity
• Asking yourself who sponsors the page
• Checking to see who is linking to the page--and look at their credibility
• Determining between advertising and serious content
• Keeping an eye out for hoaxes and frauds

A final thing to take into consideration when evaluating a website is assessing the stability of the site.  Web content can't be frozen in time. Pages can be changed or moved at any time.  One of the best ways to access stability is to look for a time stamp that lets you know when the page was last updated.

The assignment for this lesson required me to go to three websites and try to evaluate them using the criteria given in the lesson.  The websites were:

• Causes of the Civil War
• General Delivery University
• Feline Reactions to Bearded Men

When evaluating the first site on the causes of the civil war, I found that even though the site had been around for a number of years and listed the author/ownership, there was no place that showed the last time it was updated.  Another red flag for me was that all of the sponsorship had to do with hotels and other travel type companies.  Also, the web address kind of made me leery, because it ended in "html." While I would read the information on this site for pleasure purposes, I would probably try to find a more credible site for research.

The second website just completely cracked me up, as it was obviously a site that was created as a joke.  When I checked it on Google, it said it was a parody site.  I encourage you to go take a look!

The third website was laughable in it's lack of credibility.  The layout was poor, and the content was ridiculous. 

Lesson 1 Search Engines   Lesson 2 Metasearch Engines   Lesson 3  Subdirectories   Lesson 4  Library Gateways  

Lesson 5  Evaluating WebPages   Lesson 6  Creating a Search Strategy   Lesson 7  Basic Search Tips  

Lesson 8  Boolean Logic   Lesson 9  Field Searching   Lesson 10  Troubleshooting Lesson 11  Clusty Search Engine 

     Chapter 12  All Things Google   Lesson 13  All Things Yahoo