Homework Help: How do I find an Internet site?

Where do you find good websites?

If you need a website for a school project, you could go to Google, type in a few words, and take the first site on the list. We wouldn't recommend it though!

There are a lot of good places to find authoritative websites that are suitable for school projects:

• Recommended Websites (Nashville Public Library)
  We've searched the Internet for good sites and placed what we liked here. Check them out!
• Internet Public Library
  You'll find a lot of useful links for a wide range of topics.
• Librarian's Index to the Internet
  It may sound nerdy, but you'll find useful websites here on almost any topic.

How can I tell if a website is any good?

Not all sites are worth looking at. Anybody can put a website up these days. Do you really want to use your neighbor's website on tornadoes for your science project that is 10% of your grade? Didn't think so.

The following 6 criteria are helpful in judging whether to trust the content of a website:

Authority

• Who wrote the site and why should you trust the information?
  Look for: the name of the author or organization, credentials, references to other work, and contact information including E-mail or Postal address. An E-mail contact should always be present.
• Is the work original or borrowed work? Is the author relating first-hand experience or research?
  Information is drawn from credible, cited sources, not conjecture.
• Name of organization sponsoring the site and information about them. (Are they a well-known credible organization?)
• The physical location where work was produced. Check the web address. Sites that end in .edu or .gov might be more reliable than sites ending in .com.
• Proper citations

Security of Site

• Does the site solicit or require personal information for registration?
• Does the site have a policy regarding the privacy of its visitors?
• Does the site sell personal information to other organizations?

Accuracy

• Is the information reliable? Are there spelling or grammatical errors?
• Is article well written and organized?
• Does the page link to the site's home page?
• Is page easy to read (good color/font)?
• Is article trying to sell a product or service?
• Does article solicit information or money from you?

Currency

• Is information dated?
• Is there a date on the page?
• What does it represent (date updated or creation date?)
• Are there lots of dead links on the page?
• Is currency necessary to the topic?

Bias

• Are there advertisements on site? Sites should clearly identify sponsorships and advertising space on the website. Sites should also identify business relationships with businesses they link to.
• In News items: Editors choose certain news items over others. Events can be described very different based on the author or editor's points of view. To detect bias, compare news reports from a wide variety of outlets.
• Also, consider the source of information: Was in writer present at the event or were his sources? Does the author use information from officials or clearly biased sources?

Content & Scope

• What topics are included and to what depth?
• List of links or actual content?
• Is the site comprehensive or narrow?