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Web Evaluation and Citation
There are many superb Internet resources but they must be winkled out from the many that are irrelevant, unhelpful, unreliable, slow to load and hard to navigate, downright distasteful or otherwise a waste of your time.

Unlike contributors to journals, whose articles are peer-reviewed and often revised (or rejected) in consequence, anyone wishing to put up a website may do so, however ill-qualified. This is just one of the many reasons why teaching students how to evaluate websites is one of a teacher's most important responsibilities.

The guidelines and checklists provided at the sites below make this task much easier. Another major use of the checklists is in testing your own materials! Whether you are producing for your own students or for a wider audience, keep checking content, format and accessibililty against these criteria until your material is good enough to pass all the tests.

Evaluating Websites
  • ALA Selection Criteria
    'How to tell if you are looking at a great web site.' A useful list in four sections: Authorship, Purpose, Design and Stability, Content.
    http://www.ala.org.parentspage/greatsites/criteria.html


  • Checklist for Evaluating Web Resources
    University of Southern Maine Library. Clear, simple, short questions to ask about a site. Nicely presented. Includes  list of sources to help with citation
    http://library.usm.maine.edu/guides/webeval.html
    http://library.usm.maine.edu/research/researchguides/webevaluating.html


  • Evaluating Information
    Click on Library -->Research Help for a menu which includes evaluation. There is guidance plus a neat one page printable checklist. One of many university and college sites
    http://library.nhmccd.edu/

  • Criteria for Evaluating Web Resources
    This provides a downloadable rating form in three different formats.
    http://www.library.kent.edu/webeval
  • Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools
    This takes you to the Cornell University Reading/Writing Guides and How Do I Find page. The menu includes Evaluating Websites and Critically Analyzing Information Sources. (It also includes Research Strategies and Citation Styles.)
    http://www.library.cornell.edu/services/guides.html
  • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (New Mexico State University)
    Besides the help with evaluation, there are examples and suggestions for research.
    http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/eval.html


  • How to Evaluate the Information Sources You Find
    (Cornell University Library)
    This gives guidance in evaluating the authority, usefulness and reliability of all kinds of sources: books, journals, media, internet....Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the links to Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites.
    http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/evaluate.html


  • ICYouSee
    This particular page on the site is A Guide to Ccritical Thinking about What you See on the World Wide Web. There is a checklist, with explanations and links to further information. Try the Quiz or any of the exercises which give practice in evaluation.
    http://www.ithaca.edu/library/Training/hott.html


  • Kathy Schrock's Guide: Critical Evaluation
    High quality site, updated regularly. Click on Critical Evaluation Tools. Try Kathy's own ABC's of WebSite Evaluation and any of the Critical Evaluation Survey forms (e.g. Middle School).
    http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/eval.html


  • Quick, the Quality Information Checklist (Health Development Agency UK)
    Designed for children and teenagers but worth a look by adults too. Check all the parts by clicking on the green figures.
    http://www.quick.org.uk/menu.htm


Citing Internet Sources

  • Citing Sources
    Scroll to Research Help and choose Citation Help for printable guides to APA, MLA and Chicago style formats for all types of resources.
    http://library.nhmccd.edu/
  • Citing Electonic Sources
    Complete guide to citation of online sources. Includes both APA and MLA styles. From Columbia University.
    http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/cgos/idx_basic.html


  • Copyright
    This topic is covered within the ICT in Education site of the Institute of Education, University of London. It covers the copyright regulations and good practice every teacher should know about. . Much Internet material is free for educational purposes, some requires permission (and some requires payment). Check out the rest of the resources available too.
    http://www.ioe.ac.uk/ICS/pgceictresources/websites.htm


  • Online! A Reference Guide for Using Internet Sources
     Detailed advice for citing online sources and links to many URLs. Based on a book by the same name.
    http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/


  • Online Citation
    Part of the Longman site. In addition you can click on Teens for activities, dictionaries, language update, chat...
    http://www.awlonline.com/englishpages/citation_walker_citing.htm


  • Quality Information Checklist
    Excellent combination of information and amusement intended for young students but profitable for adults too. The address takes you to the Teacher's Guide. The main checklist is worth downloading for poster or class distribution. Behind each of the 8 questions you will find a worksheet, 'egg samples' from Cyberquack or other instructional help.
    http://www.quick.org.uk/


  • Yahooligans! Teachers'Guide
     Teaching Internet literacy, evaluating sites, citing sources, lesson plans..    .
    http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/tg/

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    Updated 28 January 2007
    Created by Jean Floyd for English Language Teaching Centre Malaysia
    Copyright 2001-2007