Canadian-American Center

CAN 101 – Introduction to Canadian Studies - CAN 101 Website Tutorial: Evaluating Web Resources

THE WORLD WIDE WEB  is a good research tool if the researcher’s objectives are clear.  As with print resources, a researcher   must analyze the web resources to determine their bias, authority, and their quality.

THE PURPOSES of this tutorial are
1) to present a framework for categorizing websites, and
2) to offer a method for evaluating web sites along five criteria

A)  Review the descriptions of the following TYPES of web sites, and click on the hyperlinks to see examples.

ADVOCACY

• sponsored by an organization wishing to influence opinion and/or promote ideas
• can end .org or .com if the site offers something for sale
• will end in a country designation when the site originates outside the U.S.
  EX: Canada – .ca United Kingdom – .uk

Examples:
The Green Party of Canada: http://www.green.ca
Cancer Advocacy Coalition Canada- grassroots action for cancer care:
http://www.canceradvocacycoalition.com

BUSINESS/MARKETING

• sponsored by a commercial enterprise in the business of making money; promoting and/or selling products or services
• can end .com
• may end in a country designation when the site originates outside the U.S.
  EX: Canada – .ca United Kingdom – .uk

Examples:
Bechtel Corporation: http://www.bechtel.com/spjames.htm
McGill-Queen’s University Press: http://www.mqup.mcgill.ca

INFORMATIONAL

• created by an organization or entity whose purpose is to present factual information
• can end .gov or .edu

Examples:
Statistics Canada: http://www.statscan.ca
University of British Columbia Library: http://www.library.ubc.ca/

NEWS

• created by an organization or entity whose purpose is to present very current information
• can end .com

Examples:
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: http://www.cbc.ca
The Canadian Press: http://www.cp.org/english/hp.htm

PERSONAL

• published by an individual who may or may not be affiliated with a larger organization or institution
• can have a  ~  in the address; can end .com or .edu
• may end in a country designation when the site originates outside the U.S.
  EX: Canada – .ca United Kingdom – .uk

Examples:
Well Known People Who Happen to be Canadian: http://schwinger.harvard.edu/~terning/Canadians
Blupete – Nova Scotia history: http://www.blupete.com

B) Review the brief descriptions of the following CRITERIA for evaluating web sites.
(Descriptions from: Evaluating Web Resources)

ACCURACY

• Is the information free of grammatical, spelling and typographical errors?
• Are the sources for any factual information clearly listed so they can be verified in another source?
• Is it clear who has the ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of the content of the material?
  Can you contact the author(s)?

AUTHORITY

• Is it clear who is responsible for the contents? Are there “About” and “Contact Us” pages?
• Does the person responsible for the site indicate his or her qualifications for writing on the topic?
• Is there a way of verfying the legitimacy of the organization or company?
• Is Webmaster and Author the same person?

OBJECTIVITY

• Are the organization’s biases clearly stated?
• Is the information provided as a public service?
• Is there advertising on the page, and is it clearly differentiated from the information?
• Are editorials and opinion pieces clearly labeled?

CURRENCY

• Is the publication date clearly indicated? Is there a date when the page or site was revised or updated?
• Are there other indications that the material is kept current?
• Are there any dead links?

COVERAGE

• Is it clear what topics the page or site intends to address?
• Does the page or site succeed in addressing these topics, or has something significant been left out?
• Is there an indication the page or site has been completed and is not still under construction?

C) Print out a checklist for each TYPE of website

ADVOCACY – checklist

BUSINESS/MARKETING – checklist

NEWS – checklist

INFORMATIONAL – checklist

PERSONAL – checklist

EXAMPLE summary statement for web site about citing a web page on a bibliography:

Citation Style Guides for Internet and Electronic Sources
http://www.library.ualberta.ca/guides/citation/index.cfm
A researcher looking for guidance citing internet and other electronic sources of material for academic writing will find this informational site useful.  The author is a University of Alberta librarian who presents an organized and thorough set of relevant examples, as well as links to style guides.  While the site author admits her guidelines are not the definitive standard, the site does provide a thoughtful approach to citing non-print resources and illustrates them with specific examples.  B. Arntzen

Questions/Comments may be addressed to Betsy Arntzen, Canadian-American Center

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