CARRDSS Check

 Criteria for Evaluating The Web    

Evaluation of Web Documents

How to Interpret The Basics

Credibility

1. Who wrote the page?
2. Can you contact him or her?
3. What are the credentials of the author?
4. Are their authoritative links?
5. Is a Works Cited included?
6. Policy of Content included?
7. What about this source makes it believable (or not)?

Credibility

1. Make sure author provides e-mail or
   a contact address/phone number.
2. You should hold the author to the same degree of credentials,   authority, and documentation that
   you would expect from something published in a reputable print resource (book, journal article,
   good newspaper).
3. Might the page be by a hobbyist,     self-proclaimed expert, or    enthusiast?
4. Works Cited includes reliable    sources.
5. Policy of Content explains inclusions and exclusions.
6. Why should I believe this source    over another? Why should I believe   it? Why should I trust this source?

Accuracy

1. Is the text well written?      Spelling/grammar mistakes?
2. What is the quality of writing? 
3. Is the content communicated
   clearly? Do the visual effects
   enhance the resource,
   distract from the content, or
   substitute for content?

Accuracy

1. Compare sites.  Is the information
   consistent with information on
   other sites?
2. How many dead links are on the
   page?
3. Most educated people use
   grammar fairly well and check their
   work for spelling errors. An
   occasional comma in the wrong
   place is not unusual, but more than
   two or three spelling or grammar
   errors is cause for caution, at least.
   Whether the errors come from
   carelessness or ignorance, neither
   puts the information or the writer in
   a favorable light. 

Reliability

1. Is the information fact or
   opinion?
2. Does this site have
   information I need to answer
   my question?
3. What goals/objectives does
   this page meet?
4. How detailed is the
   information?
5. What opinions (if any) are
   expressed by the author?

Reliability

1. Check “about this site.”
2. Who produced this site?
3. Determine if page is a mask for
   advertising; if so information might
   be biased.
4. View any Web page as you would an infommercial on television. Ask
    yourself why was this written and for  whom?

Relevance

1. Do the links complement the
   documents theme?
2. Is it all images or a balance of text and images?

Relevance

1. Will this answer my question?
2. Is the information useful for my
   purpose?
3. Are the links helpful for my purpose?

Date

1. How old is the site?
2. How often is site updated?
3. How current are the links?

Date

1. How many dead links are on the
   page?
2. Are the links current or updated
   regularly?
3. Is the information on the page
   outdated?  

Sources

1. Is the information presented
   cited correctly?
2. Is the information verifiable?
3. Works Cited included?
4. Parenthical Within Text?

Sources

1. Does the resource stand alone, or has it been abstracted from another source,  perhaps losing meaning or links in the process?
   2. Are the sources in the Works Cited authoritative?

Scope

1. For what audience?
2.  What aspects of the subject
   are covered?
3. What types of resources are
   provided by the links?
4. Logical progression of topics
   within original site (site being
   evaluated)
5. Information offered not easily
   available in other sources

Scope

1. Why Created?
2. Is this related to the level
   of audience for which the
   resource has been
   designed?
3. Is the resource focused on
   a narrow area or does it
   include related topics?
4. What is the level of depth
   treated by this site? What is the
   level of detail provided about the
   subject.