Library Survival Skills Research Guide: Evaluating Web Sites

Evaluating Web Sites

General tips for using the World Wide Web for academic research:

The Internet can be a valuable tool for academic research. Beginning your research at the library's home page, you will find a mix of subscription-based and freely available information published by scholars and experts, as well as a gateway to resources on the World Wide Web published by anyone with a computer and a modem. How can you tell the difference? This portion of Library Survival Skills will help you make decisions about conducting research on the Web, as well as determine the value and appropriateness of sources once you've located them.

	Begin your research from a credible site: The Pollak Library web site has compiled links to excellent research sites on the Web. Check here before starting from scratch with a search engine like Yahoo! or Google.
	If you are going to use search engines,learn to use them effectively. Reviews, online tutorials, and tips on using search engines can be found here.

	Critically Evaluate What You Find: Use this one-page guide--Six Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages--to help you make sense of websites you find, and determine whether or not they are appropriate for your assignments.
	Other Resources for Evaluation: Links to additional evaluation resources, including online tutorials to assess your level of "information competence."

Prepared by Rosemary McGill and Judy Ruttenberg. Maintained by Barbie McConnell.
An administrative page of the Paulina June & George Pollak Library at California State University, Fullerton.
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Last Updated: May 05, 2008