Anholt/Krauss Page 1 6/12/01 Name  _____________________________________ Web Site Evaluation Checklist Things to know: 1. You should not start your research by looking on the Web with a search engine.  You should collect some background knowledge first by looking at sources in Watzek Library, such as encyclopedias (http://www.lclark.edu/~refdesk/resources/refdesk.html) or research databases. (http://www.lclark.edu/~refdesk/db/dbsubj.html) 2. You should only use articles that you can read and understand well.   3. Anyone can put articles on the Web.  This includes college professors with advanced degrees and 6 year old children, who write reports in primary school.  Be careful! 4. Information you find on the Web may not be true.  It may also be biased (someone's opinion).  If so, it is very important to find opinions on both sides of the question.   What is your research topic? Answer the following questions "yes" or "no".  If you have more than 9  "Yes" answers, use the article in your research paper. 1. ___I have already searched for articles in the library "Research Databases." 2. ___Don't use your dictionary.  Read the first paragraph of the article.  Read the first sentence of each paragraph in the article. Read the last paragraph of the article.  Do you think you understand what the article is about? If you answer this question “no”, do not use this article. AUTHORITY: 1. ___Do you know who wrote the information on this page?    2. ___Is there a link to contact the author?   3. ___ Is there information to show that the author is knowledgeable or an expert?   Check the URL (Web address).  A tilde (~) means the page is a personal one, not part of an organization’s official Web site.  Try putting the author’s name into Google.  See what else s/he has written.  You can also put the URL into Google.  This will show you which sites link to the page you found.