Fact or Fiction?

The book states that there are two areas to evaluate when you and your students are determining whether a website is credible or not. These two areas are relevancy and credibility. How well does the website relate to the question you are asking?
Evaluating the credibility of a website involves evaluating the source of the information and evaluating the treatment of the subject. The book suggests asking some questions when evaluating the sources of the information provided on the website. Some examples of these questions are:
• Who provided the information? Why?
• Does the author of the site have credibility in the field?
• Do you recognize the organization the published the site?
• Does the organization have a vested interest or bias in the information presented?
• Is a bibliography or resource list included?
• Can we check the sources?
The next thing to do is to evaluate the treatment of the subject. The book provides a list of questions to check into this as well. Some of these questions are:
• Is someone trying to sell us a product or point of view?
• Is the intended audience clear?
• Does it follow a logical presentation of sequence?
• Are there ideological or political biases?
• Is this primarily advertising or marketing website?
• Are there any gaps in logic, or is there missing information that is relevant to the subject?
A final step is to find two other sources on the same subject and see if the material on the websites is the same. This process is very important for students to know so that they know when a website will provide them with credible information and when it will not.
*Questions taken from “Meaningful Learning With Technology” by: David Jonassen, Jane Howland, Rose Marra, and David Crismond