• Introduction
• Relevance
• Reliability
• Assessing books
• Assessing articles
• Assessing websites
• Summary

Assessing websites

Anyone can publish on the internet. This means that, although there is a lot of reliable information, there is also a lot of unreliable information out there. Often, there has been no quality control by editors or peers. You should therefore be extra critical when dealing with information you have taken from the internet (see Choosing information sources).
On the internet, commercial interests may play a role. You should therefore always pay close attention to the independent status of websites.

Relevance

Correspondence with question and objective	Does the information answer your questions? Does the information correspond with the questions you formulated and/or your target audience? Does the information on the website give an overall picture? Is a website or an article from this website a suitable source for your research?
Completeness	Does the information you found give a complete picture ? Do you need more sources?
Topicality	How current does the information need to be, in relation to your research? When was the text put online? When was the site last updated? Is it to be expected that more recent developments have since taken place? If reference is made to other sources, how recent are these? At Nice to know: Topicality of websites you will find a useful tip to check when a site was last updated.

 

Reliability

Authority	Is it clear who wrote the information? What authority does this person have? What is his background and has he published before? Was the website made by an individual or for an organisation or company? Are there contact details? Is there any mention of the website’s aim and origin? anything mentioned about the aim and realization of the website?
Correctness	Are the facts correct? Are opinions substantiated by facts and/or references?
Objectivity	Is the information presented objectively? Does the information consist mainly of facts, or opinions? What is the aim of the article? Information, opinion, amusement, commerce... What interests do the authors have? If you wish to check this, search the website for sections such as About this site, Disclaimer or Made by. The website’s URL will also provide you with information: .org = non-profit organisation .gov = government .edu of .ac.uk = education (often a university) .com = company (commercial) .info = for companies (non-profit or commercial) members.chello.nl/ ; geocities.com/users/ (persoonlijk)
Quality of the website	Does the website look professional, do the hyperlinks work, does the site contain many errors?
Verifiability	Can the facts or data be verified? Are there professional bodies/websites referring to this site? Many search engines offer the option to check this. Do any references to sources check out? Which are these sources?

 

 

Examples [voorbeelden vervangen]

 

Example 1:

You are writing an article about headaches. You have found this website using Google: http://www.thedailyheadache.com

 

Relevance

• This site contains various blogposts of someone who suffers from chronic headaches. Purpose of the website is to inform about headache disorders, chronic migraine, chronic illness & depression and to offer coping strategies, resources and news.
• Topicality: reference is made relevant sites. It looks like the information is up-to-date.

Reliability

• The author’s aim with this personal website is to share information and exchange experiences through the forum.
• The author is expert by experience. She also posts on migraine.com
• The website lacks credits. It is not clear who is behind the website, although the author states her name.
• The content of the website seems to be rather biased. Many of the articles discuss alternative treatments.
• The sources for the articles are cited. The website does however looks rather amateurish.

Conclusion

This would be a good source if your aim is to learn about someone’s personal experiences. To find recent, complete and objective information it would be better to choose another source.

 

 

Example 2:

You are writing an article about stress among students. You have found this site while searching:
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/studenthealth/Pages/Copingwithstress.aspx

 

Relevance

• The site is an introduction to the topic, probably only giving partially answer your questions.
• Although the website contains relevant information, it would be useful to also consult other sources. This will give you a more complete picture of the topic.

Reliability

• According to the About us section The website NHS Choices (www.nhs.uk) is the UK’s biggest health website. It aims to provide a comprehensive health information service to help people to make choices about health and lifestyle.

• The about us section shows all information on the background and structure of this website.
• The author regrettably does not mention any sources, but you may assume that the information an organisation as the NHS provides, is correct.

• The website looks very professional. The systematic introduction allows you to find information quickly. There are also references to other relevant, reliable sources.

Conclusion:
This is a useful site made by somebody with sufficient knowledge. The links to other sites are a useful additional resource when searching for further information.