Evaluate Web Content

Evaluating web content is not an easy task.  In the print world, traditionally most content is submitted to a publisher and it is the responsibility of the publisher to verify the validity of the information.  Because we feel confident in the process, we don’t feel the need to spend time evaluating information found in print materials.  The content is provided from a trusted source.

Web content is different.  Anyone can publish anything to the web.  Anyone can remain anonymous.  Anyone can present an opinion as fact.  Anyone can find “practically” anything on the web due to the development of robust search engines.  No more going to a physical space, combing through on-line databases or card catalogues, roaming through the stacks, and going through the process to check-out print materials.  The web has given us the ability to obtain and use “just-in-time” information.  No wonder the web has become so popular. 

With a click of the mouse there is no waiting for content.  Billions of web pages are delivered directly to the desktop.  Because of this ease of access, web content is being utilized in everything we do from researching a topic to buying the latest electronic gadget.   Billions more web pages are published and updated every day.  Currently, there is no standard or procedure for determining the validity of the web content.  That evaluation process has become our responsibility.  The ability to find and use information quickly is what has made the evaluation process even more difficult and time consuming.

Having an unending supply of information at our finger tips has come with a price and that price is we have to change our thinking and learn methods to evaluate content.  We need guidelines of what questions to ask, what red flags to look for, and when to further investigate the validity of the content.   Look at the guidelines, but remember, the more you know about the process, the better

A few resources for developing web page evaluation criteria can be found at:

·         Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask, University of California, Berkley

·         Evaluation of information sources, Alastair Smith, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

·         Evaluating Information Found on the Internet, John Hopkins University, Sheridan Libraries