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Step by Step: Details of the Research Process

Evaluating Websites

Why Evaluate Web Sources?

  • Anyone with a little time, some knowledge and small amount of money can publish on the Internet.
  • No person, persons or organization reviews the content of the Internet.
  • Pages are retrieved by search engines based on the page's content, not the relevancy or quality of the page.
  • Much information on the Web is not updated regularly.

How to Evaluate Web Resources
For more information on evaluating websites look at this site from UC Berkely Teaching Library.

Videos Worth Watching

 Source: NC State University Libraries

Text Version of Research Flowchart

  1. Select Topic
    1. Do Background Reading
    2. Narrow/Broaden Search
    3. Create Thesis Statement
  2. Develop Search Strategy
    1. Create list of keywords
    2. List questions to be answered
    3. Write a draft outline
  3. Gather Materials
    1. Books
    2. Articles
    3. Web Sites
  4. Evaluate Resources
    1. Currency
    2. Reliabitliy
    3. Authority
    4. Accuracy
    5. Point of View
Last Updated: Mar 26, 2025 5:37 PM