Web Searching Tips and Techniques

Website Evaluation and Citing

Once you've identified potential sites of interest, you'll need to evaluate them and, if you choose to include these resources in research papers, you'll need to accurately cite them.

Internet sites vary markedly in quality. In brief, the questions we ask when evaluating a new site include:

• Who developed the site?
  
  
• What is the author's affiliation? credentials?
  
  
• Does the author have a bias? a sales pitch?
  
  
• What is the mission of the "parent" organization or institution?
  
  
• How often is it updated?
  
  
• What is the purpose of the website?
  
  
• Is the site trying to sell a product?
  
  
• Who is the intended audience?

General website evaluation links:

• Evaluating Web Pages:Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask
  from UC Berkeley Library
  
  
• Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources
  from UCLA College Library
  
  
• Web Site Evaluation Chart
  from Purdue University

Health website evaluation links:

• The HON Code of Conduct (HONcode) for medical and health Websites from Health on the Net
  
  
• The HON Code of Conduct Principles
  from Health on the Net
  
  
• Criteria for Assessing the Quality of Health Information on the Internet - Policy Paper from Mitretek Systems
  
  

When you wish to cite an Internet resource in a research paper, it must be referenced like any other published material, including:

• authorship
  
  
• date of posting, if available
  
  
• information sufficient for the reader to locate the source
  
  
• format consistent with other citations in your bibliography

New editions of printed style manuals (e.g., Turabian, APA, The Chicago Manual of Style ) usually include the preferred format for Internet citation. For more information, see:

• Citing Internet and Other Electronic Resources
  from Binghamton University Libraries
  
  

Need Help? Please email: Biomedical Libraries Reference
or call 650-1660/7660 for assistance