Criteria for selecting web pages

Accuracy: Is the information in the site accurate? Are there political or ideological biases? What motivation does the author have for placing this information on the Net.

Authority: Does the site have some reputable organization or expert behind it? Are sources of information stated? Is the information verifiable? Can the author be contacted for clarification or to be informed of new information? (Examining the URL can give clues to the authority of a source. For instance a tilde “~” usually indicates a personal web directory, rather than part of the organization’s official web site.)

Currency: How frequently is the site updated? Are revisions stated and do these correspond to the information in the site? Does the organization or person hosting the site appear to have a commitment to the ongoing maintenance and stability of the site.

Design (overall): Is the site interesting to look at? Do the visual effects enhance the site, distract from the content, or substitute for content?

Interactivity: What interactive features do the sites provided? Do they add value to the site?

Objectivity: What is the purpose of the site? Is the purpose clearly stated? Does the site fulfill its purpose?

Quality of writing: Is the text well written? While hypertext linking and multimedia are important elements of the Web, the bulk of the information content on the Web still lies in text, and quality of writing is important for the content to be communicated clearly.

Uniqueness: Is the information in this site available in other media (for example other sites, Gopher, WWW, print, CD-ROM)? What advantages does this particular site have? Does the information enhance the textbook information?

Workability: Is the site convenient to use? Is the site user friendly? Are any special commands clear? Is help information available? Does the site load quickly and easily?

Updated: 01/12/01