Evaluating and Citing Web Documents

Information compiled by Van Wylen Library, Hope College, Holland, Michigan
Used with permission.

Evaluating Web Sites

Steps to help evaluate the quality of information:

1. Determine the kind of document/media you are studying: is it a/an
   1. Research article?
   2. Advertisement?
   3. Personal home page?
   4. Summary from a more complete source?
   5. Someone's opinion?
   6. Data from a governmental agency?
      

2. Consider the content:
   1. Is the subject coverage narrow or broad?
   2. How current is the information?
   3. Is the focus popular or academic/scholarly?
   4. What does the style of writing and language reveal about the quality?
   5. Are there references to support the ideas, opinions, and data?
      

3. Try to identify the author or publisher and their credentials:
   1. If no authors are identified within the document, back up to see if this information is provided elsewhere.
   2. If there is a name and e-mail address, you can write and ask the author to find out more about his/her credentials.
   3. The URL offers clues to the source: where (on what computer) is the information housed? The computer may be at an education institution (.edu); a government agency (.gov); a U.S. military branch (.mil); a not-for-profit organization (.org); or a commercial enterprise (.com). What does this URL clue tell you about the quality of the information or possible motives for posting the information?
      
      
      

Citing Web Sites*

APA Style

Structure:

Author/editor. (Year). Title (edition), [Type of Medium]. Producer (optional). Available protocol (e.g. HTTP): Site/Path/File [Access date].

Examples:

Pritzker, T.J. (1992). An Early Fragment from Central Nepal, [Online]. Available HTTP: http://www.ingress.com/~astanart/pritzker/pritzker.html [1995, June 8]

(1996) An Introduction to Butterfly Gardening, [Online]. Available HTTP: http://monarch.bio.ukans.edu/garden1.html [1996, August 5].

MLA Style

Structure:

Author. Title of item. Publication information (Place of publication: publisher, date), if given. Medium. Information supplier. Available protocol (e.g., HTTP): Site/Path/File. Access date.

Examples:

So What's A Theremin??. April 1996. Available HTTP: http//www.caramoor.com/theremania.html [1996, August 6]

Pritzker, Thomas J.. An Early Fragment from Central Nepal. N.D. Online. Ingress Communications. Available HTTP: http://www.ingress.com/~astanart/pritzker.html. 8 June, 1995.