Name: ____________________ Date: ______________

Website Evaluation Questionaire

URL/Address: ___________________________________________________

Name of the site: _________________________________________________

Content:

Is the title of the page indicative of the content? __Yes __No

Is the purpose of the page indicated on the home page? __Yes __No

Is there a date on the page that tells you when it was last updated? __Yes __No

If so, is it current? __Yes __No

Are there links to outside sites? __Yes __No

Are those links useful? __Yes __No

Are the links still active? __Yes __No

Does the website credit a source for its information? __Yes __No

Did the information lead you to other sources, both print and online, that were useful?

__Yes __No

Is a bibliography of print resources provided? __Yes __No

Does the information appear biased? __Yes __No

Does the information contradict something you found elsewhere? __Yes __No

Would it have been easier to get the information elsewhere? __Yes __No

Where else would you look? __________________________________________

Would information somewhere else have been different? __Yes __No

Do most of the pictures supplement the content of the page? __Yes __No

What is the overall tone of the website design (professional, informal, serious, persuasive)?

Authority:

Who or what organization created the page? ____________________________________

Is this person affiliated with an organization? __Yes __No

Is the author’s email address included? __ Yes __No

Is a biography of the author included? __Yes __No

Conduct a link: command in a search engine to see what links to this page. Can you tell if other experts in the field think this is a reputable page? __Yes __No

Does the domain name of the page (.edu, .com, .org, .gov, .net) influence your evaluation?

__Yes __No

Why or why not?

Are you satisfied the information is useful or reliable for your purpose? If not what would you do next?

Explain why this site is (or is not) valid for your purpose. Include aspects of content, authenticy, authority, bias and subject matter.

Adapted from Kathy Schrock’s Critical Evaluation of a Web Site Secondary School Level

Updated February 16, 2007.

University of Chicago Laboratory Schools

Rowley High School Library