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HIS 254 - Online - History of Women in the United States: The 20th Century: Website Evaluation

This guide was created for Sara Davis for her online class.

Website Evaluation Handout

The ABC Test: Guidelines for Evaluating Websites

When evaluating websites or any other information sources, use the following ABC Test to help evaluate the information you find:

Authority: Who is responsible for this source?

  • Who is the author? 
  • What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations?
  • Is the author qualified to write on the topic?
  • Who is the publisher or sponsor of the source?
  • Is there contact information, such as a publisher or email address?
  • Does the domain in URL reveal anything about the author or source?   Examples:
    • .com - commercial site
    • .edu - school or university site
    • .gov - government website
    • .org - for-profit or non-profit organization site
Note: Domains such as .ca (Canada) or .au (Australia) are country-specific domain names. It is not easy to tell what type of organization is behind these domain names; so use some of the other criteria to evaluate the website. 
 

 Bias: What was the motivation for creating this source?

  • What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform, teach, sell, entertain or persuade?
  • Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions clear?
  • Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
  • Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional or personal biases?

Credibility: Does the source's content inspire confidence?

  • Is the information supported by evidence?
  • Does the source cite its sources?
  • Has the information been reviewed or refereed by an outside expert?
  • Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?
  • Does the ltone seem unbiased and free of emotion?
  • Are there spelling, grammar, or typographical errors?​
  • When was the information published?​
  • Has the information been revised or updated?​
  • Does your topic require current information, or will older sources work as well?​
  • Are the links functional?​
  • Are you comfortable citing this source in your research paper?

Domain Names

The URL for a website can tell you a lot about the purpose of a webpage. 

.com = commercial site

.org = organization (often non-profit)

.edu = U.S. college or university

.mil = U.S. military

.gov = U.S government (federal, state, or local)

 

.edu    .mil     .gov

Only qualified organizations can use these domains  

.com   .org 

  •  Anyone can register for a website in these domains 

Manipulating the Message

What about Wikipedia?

Wikipedia is a free, online encyclopedia that contains articles about nearly any topic.  It may be tempting to use it as a resource for an assignment, but keep in mind that most instructors WILL NOT accept wikipedia as an acceptable source. 

Why?  Wikipedia entries can be edited by anyone that has access to a computer and creates a wikipedia account.  This often compromises the quality of information that may appear in Wikipedia entries. The last thing you want to do is to use false information in your assignments.