LS 101: Adams, M.: Websites

The "free web", is the part of the internet that can be accessed by the general public either freely, or by some sort of non-privileged* registration or subscription process. At one end of the spectrum, the "free web" is vast collection of objectively accurate and helpful information, and at the other, a vast collection of objectively inaccurate information, or frank lies, that have the potential to cause harm. There are many factors that sometimes make it difficult to tell the difference, especially information that is not at the far ends of this spectrum. Here are just two:

1. Authors sometimes try to hide their inaccuracies and potential to do harm through skillfully manipulated images, language or product placement.
2. The sheer amount of information makes it difficult to sort through it and evaluate everything (who has that kind of time?).

This page is dedicated to resources that can help us do the best we can at evaluating information from the free web.

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*In this case non-privileged means that subscribing or registering is open to anyone who wants to. For example, not just anyone can access TCC Library database websites - TCC students, staff, and faculty are privileged subscribers to those websites. The TCC Library databases are not a part of the "free web."

Websites (the free web) can provide up-to-date information and can quickly lead you to more information 

How do you know if a website's information is

• authoritative  
• accurate
• current
• objective
• appropriate?

The crucial skill is to evaluate if you have found a reliable website

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How can you determine if you have a reliable website? 

Here are several points to assess when you are evaluating the reliability of the information presented on a webpage or website. No single criteria below can guarantee reliability; we have to make our decisions by assessing each criteria in the context of each other, as a whole, to help us decide.

Authority and accuracy:

• Who publishes the website?  Are the publishers well-known? Is the institution well-respected?
• Is there contact information for authors of the website content?  What are their backgrounds, credentials, relevant experiences, and/or other publications?
• Is it a commercial site (.com), a government site (.gov), an educational site (.edu), a non-profit or other organization site (.org)? How does this affect the type and quality of the information presented? (see the video below).
• Linking in and out: Does this website link to other reliable websites? Do other reliable websites link to this one?
• Are stated facts, ideas, or references to other sources backed up by specific citations or links to the original sources?

Purpose and Objectivity

• What is the purpose of this site: to sell things; inform the public; entertain*; persuade;...?
• Who sponsors this website?  What is their agenda or goal?
• Who is this information produced for? The general public? A specific interest group? Who?
• What kind of language is used? Is the language neutral and factual in tone, or is the language biased: racists, sexist, ageist, classist, abelist,... judgmental, inflammatory, insulting, dramatic, alarming,...?
• Is there advertising on the site? Is the advertising unrelated to the topic of the webpage/website (random, possibly generated by your own online activities), or is the advertising more targeted, for example is there an alarming story about a disease with a nearby advertisement for a supplement claiming to treat that disease?
• Are arguments well-reasoned with multiple viewpoints and supporting resources, or is the argument mostly an emotionally charged rant?

Currency

• Is the information on the page relatively stable (the Earth has 1 moon), or is the information unstable (COVID-19 for example)
  • if it is unstable information, is the website regularly updated?
• Are there dead links or links that lead to out-of-date information?
• Are arguments based on information that is no longer accurate?

This video (4:44 minutes) is from Tulsa Community College Library.

video: "Website domains and evaluation" by Tulsa Community College Library. Standard YouTube license applies.