Evaluating Websites

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Name _________________________

Class_________________________

Webpage Address and Title ______________________________________

Who is the author?
What are the author's qualifications, biases, affiliations and other writings? Does the author know what he or she is talking about? Is the author an organization or an individual?

Why was it written?
Are they trying to sell you a particular service, product or political candidate? 

Who paid the author?

Who owns the website?

How long ago was it written?
Is it current enough? Does currency matter? Would the time period in which the document was written affect its content?

What is the point of view?
Does the author or organization have a specific perspective or bias?

Who is the audience?
Is this meant for the general public, students, professionals, government officials, technicians, doctors or those of a specific faith or nationality?

Is the information complete?
Should you be looking for other sources of information in order to get a balanced picture of the matter? Are there other websites that take a different perspective? Is the website in general agreement with information published in encyclopedias, books, magazines and newspapers?

SMG revised September 2005