Website Evaluation: Home

Brands and companies often publish their own content and communicate directly with customers. Should these websites be used for research purposes?

SIFT to Evaluate a Website

STOP and ask yourself...

• Do you recognize the information source?
• Do you know anything about the website or its reputation?
• Based on prior knowledge, does the information make sense?

INVESTIGATE by digging into the source

• Where is the information coming from?
• What are the author's credentials (education, affiliation, experience, etc.)?
• Is the information balanced or biased?
• What is the intent of the website (to persuade, to sell, to entertain, or to educate)?
• Is the source worth your time?
• Look at what others have said about the source to help answer these questions.

FIND trusted coverage

• What claims are being made?
• Is there a consensus across sources?

TRACE claims, quotes, etc. back to the original context

• What was the original context?

Strategies for Finding the Publisher of a Website

Examine the domain name

• Often, the publisher of a website is identified in the URL (web address)
  ​http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/mountain-lion/

Look for an "About Us" Button or Link​

• Reputable websites provide contact information, including the name of the sponsoring organization

Check the bottom of the page

• The name of the website publisher is usually shown to the right of the © sign at the bottom of the page

Use WHOIS

• One of the easiest ways to find the owner or publisher of a website is to go to WHOIS and search for the domain name. In the returned data, the "registrant" is the person who owns the site.

Use Rate My Source
to check the reliability of any website.

Practice Your Evaluation Skills!