Anyone can put anything they want on the web. How do you know which information is valid? 

Criteria to consider:

1. Authority-who is the author of the page, is he/she qualified on the topic? Is the author representing a company, organization, or is it personal page? A clue to a personal homepage is in the address: it often uses a "~" www.fakehomepage.net/~johndoe

2. Accuracy -does the information seem right? Does it agree with your prior knowledge?

3. Currency-is the information up to date?

4. Objectivity- is the information biased and attempting to sway your opinion? Is it trying to sell you something?

5. Design- does the page look professional or home-made?
    

In class, we'll evaluate the following pages based on these four criteria.
 

EVALUATE THESE PAGES:

1. Trade Secrets Home Page

2. Open Secrets - your guide to money in American elections

3. Mankato, MN Home Page 
   if this page doesn't work, try: Mankato, MN Home Page

4. Aluminum Foil Deflector
   if the site is down, try this one Aluminum Foil Deflector

5. Bio-Hazard Alert Detector- McWortle Enterprises, Inc 

6. Create Your Own Healthy Child online

7. Dihydrogen Monoxide warning

8. The White House

9. Baby Smasher Industries

10. AfterLife

11. Google Technology - why it is the best search engine.

12. Facts About Series

13. Moonbeam Enterprises

14. The Republic of Molossia Official Website

PHISHING

1. Spoof Email Lesson from Ebay

2. Email Phishing quiz
3. Don't Get Hooked
4. Protect Yourself from Fraudulent Emails
5. 10 ways to stop spyware
6. AOL
7. Phishing Examples
8. Recent Phishing Incidents

 

 

More information about web research and evaluating web pages:

	Evaluating Web Pages - U.C. Berkeley
	Class Zone:Web Research Guide
	Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages
	Checklist for an Informational Web Page