How critical an observer are you? Learn how to evaluate information sources by doing the following exercise. You only have ten minutes, so be sure to stay on task!
Pick any two sites from the list below. What evidence can you find to determine how up to date these pages are and whether or not they cover their topics as completely as they claim?
| Questions to consider when reviewing web pages for currency and coverage. |
- What does "up to date" or "current" mean for this site? (Hint: What is the latest date you can find on this site?)
- Does the site really provide information on all the aspects or areas it claims to cover?
- Is the information provided uniformly complete for all the aspects and areas the site claims to cover?
Bonus question: Where could you find more up to date or complete information on your topic?
T
his exercise is based on an instructional web site created by J. Alexander and M. Tate, Wolfgram Memorial Library, Widener University, July 1996 and modified with the authors' permission. The original Web site, Evaluating Web Pages, is copyrighted by Widener University, 1996.
Created by Esther Grassian and Diane Zwemer. Copyright © 1997 UCLA College Library.
Permission is granted for unlimited non-commercial use of this exercise.
