9c+Evaluating+Websites

**//What can the URL tell you?// -** **(go through together)**
> > > > > 
 * 1) Before you leave the list of search results and before you click and get interested in anything written on the page, get all you can from the URLs of each page. Then choose pages most likely to be reliable and authentic.
 * 2) Who published the site - the server is usually named in the first portion of the [|URL] (between //http:// //and the first// ///).// Have you heard of the publisher  ?
 * 1) Watch out for this sign ~. It usually means that the webpage . For example, the URL below tells you that someone called A Butz wrote the page**.**[[image:personal_home_page.png width="304" height="17" align="center"]]

4. Look at domain names for appropriateness
 * Government sites: look for .gov, .mil
 * Educational sites: look for .edu
 * Nonprofit organisations: look for .org (though this is no longer restricted to nonprofits)
 * Look at country codes: sv, uk, gt etc



//Who is the Author? -// (go through together)

 * 1) Who wrote the page? Look at the foot of the webpage, "//Contact us//" or "About us" for information
 * 2) When was it written? If you can't find out you shouldn't use the information.
 * 3) If you cannot find the author,  truncate the URL t o see if you can find out more about the publisher.

//Forward Links (go through together)//

 * 1) //Are there links to other resources on the topic?//
 * 2) //Are the links well chosen, well organised, and/or evaluated/annotated?//
 * 3) //Do the links work?//
 * 4) //Do the links represent other viewpoints?//
 * 5) //Do the links (or absence of other viewpoints) indicate a bias?//

//Who links to this page? (//go through together)
// 2. Also try // //[|BacklinkWatch]// <span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> 3. When using looking at who links to your website, ask yourself<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//Using the link command in Altavista -// //to apply the link command go to @http://www.altavista.com/, type <**link:yourwebaddress>** (//without brackets //and// without //a space after the colon), and then click the Search button.//
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Are there many links?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What kinds of sites link to it?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What do they say?

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> //Authenticity//
Some websites are hoaxes. Use the above tips to evaluate these websites for authenticity, publisher, links etc.
 * <span class="wiki_link_ext">[|Mothers against video games and violence]<span class="wiki_link_ext"> - do you think the information on this page is biased? Who links to this website?
 * [|Silly String]<span class="wiki_link_ext"> - are these claims valid?
 * <span class="wiki_link_ext">[|Dihydrogen Monoxide Research] - how accurate is this information?
 * [|New Zealand Golf Cross]<span class="wiki_link_ext">- does this game really exist?
 * [|Susie for President] - what do you think?

//Evaluating Bias on Websites//
Is the information **balanced**: is the language emotional or inflammatory; does the information represent a single opinion or a range of opinions? Remember that anyone can publish a web page. Groups that publish websites may ignore other points of view or even use propaganda techniques to twist ideas. Can you find proof of unfairness on a webpage?
 * 1) //Read about how to [|spot bias]//
 * 2) //Test your new skills by reading extracts from [|these websites]// Do the first two.
 * 3) //Read these [|three blog posts] and decide whether you think they are biased or balanced posts.//

//Can you identify bias on these websites?//
Try these websites - they are genuine sites (not hoax sites), but do they give a balanced view? Discuss with a partner and decide whether you think they are biased or not. Read the message and remember to look at who links to the site, who owns the site etc as this often gives you some clues.
 * [|http://www.rjrt.com]<span class="wiki_link_ext">- who links to this website. Is the information biased
 * [|co-opamerica.org.] - interesting information but are precise resources referenced and does it link to other authorities in this area? Who links to the site? What kind of organisations are they?
 * []
 * [] - who links to this site. Is the information balanced?
 * [] - what do you think of this website?