Evaluating+Websites

This page contains information on the seven types of websites, five criteria for a reliable website, four addition websites on website evaluation, a presentation on a comparison between two websites on reliability, and a presentation on the consequences of plagiarism.

Seven Types of Websites:

**Commercial**- Sites that try to sell you something **Informational**- Sites that provide facts **Entertainment**- Sites that provide amusement **Educational**- Sites that try to teach you something **News**- Provide information on current events **Personal**- A forum for individual expression
 * Advocacy ** - Sites that try to sway your opinion

To decide if a website is credible and reliable you need to you see if the site meets the following five criteria. if you can answer the questions then the site is probably reliable.

**Accuracy**- Are references cited? Is there a description of the research methods used to obtain data? Do links on the site function and lead to other sites of good quality? Is the information free from spelling and other obvious errors? **Authority**- Who is responsible for the content? What are their qualifications for providing information on this topic? How can the responsible person or organization be contacted? **Coverage**- Is information on the site geared toward a specific audience, such as children? Is the site devoted entirely to a particular topic or many topics? Is there a site map or index which gives a feel for how much information is covered? **Currency**- When was the site created? How often is the site updated? Is the date of important information provided? **Objectivity**- Is the site selling something, supporting a cause, or expressing personal opinions? Are the viewpoints expressed balanced or one-sided? Has factual information been distorted or broadly interpreted?

Click [|here] to visit a site called Evaluating Information on the Web. This website gives an overview of all the information listed above on this page. Click [|here] to visit a site called 4 How to Read a Website. This website explains how to tell if a website is reliable and how to read a website URL. Click [|here] to visit a site called Five Criteria For Evaluating Web Pages. This website further explains the five criteria for a reliable website. Click [|here] to visit a site called Evaluating Website Content. This website explains the five criteria more and the different types of websites.

The presentation below uses Prezi. Prezi is a useful tool that allows you to create presentations similar to Powerpoint presentations. Visit the Web 2.0 Resources page to learn more about the resource. The Prezi below compares two websites for reliability. This is a useful example to learn how to compare websites in your own daily life for reliability.

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After evaluating websites you can use the reliable information. However you have to be careful not to Plagiarize. Plagiarism is easy to do but is wrong. The presentation below covers the different forms of plagiarism and the consequences of plagiarism. The presentation below was created by Kaci Stern, Allana Wiley, and Addie Scott.

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After learning about Plagiarism you can apply that information towards following Copy Right and Fair Use laws. The presentation below covers the different types of Copy Right and Fair Use, such as the Poor Man's Copyright and Copy Infringement. Copy Right protects work made by individuals. The presentation was created by Trevor Ramsey, David Shenofsky, and Ben Potter. media type="custom" key="24866070"