My Information Skills

Self-paced tutorials on research and study skills for TAFE SA students

Evaluate a website

Anyone can make information accessible on the Internet, so it's very important to be able to recognise a website that is accurate, current and reliable. It's up to you to evaluate the appropriateness of the information presented. 

Points to consider when looking at the accuracy of a webpage:

  • Look for links that indicate credentials – ‘about us’, ‘contact’ etc.
  • Are the authors qualified to provide information on the subject?
  • Are there links to related pages?
  • Are the pages well organised, and complete?
  • Do the links work?
  • Does the information make sense?

Take this What quiz to test your knowledge. There are only two questions.

Points for you to consider when checking if a website is current:

  • Is the information current enough for your purpose?
  • Does the website have a date?
  • Is the web page updated regularly?
  • Does the web page include a copyright date?
  • Are there recent updates or a "What's New" section?
  • Are the web page links current or dead?

Try this quiz There are three questions.

Ask the following questions to help you determine who created the website.

  • Can you tell who wrote it?
  • Are they reputable?
  • Have they provided you with contact information (email address, phone number or address)?
  • Are there links to "About us", "FAQ", "Background" or "Biography" to find out more information about the authors?
  • Is it a social networking site? (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Yammer, LinkedIn, Blogs, Forums, Instagram, Viber or Skype)
  • Is it a government, commercial or an organisational site?
  • Is the domain name appropriate for the content?

 

Other resources

Look at our TAFE SA study guide on evaluating resources

Try the CRAAP test to evaluate information you find on a website:

Here are some websites which provide more information about evaluating websites:

Test your knowledge by taking the following Web quiz. There are three questions.