Alexander and Tate's Five Point Criteria System

Alexander and Tate's Five Point Criteria System:

Criterion #1: AUTHORITY

Is it clear who is responsible for the contents of the page?

Is there a link to a page describing the purpose of the sponsoring
organization?

Is there a way of verifying the legitimacy of the page's sponsor? That
is, is there a phone number or postal address to contact for more
information? (Simply an email address is not enough.)

Is it clear who wrote the material and are the author's qualifications
for writing on this topic clearly stated?

If the material is protected by copyright, is the name of the copyright
holder given?

Criterion #2: ACCURACY

Are the sources for any factual information clearly listed so they can
be verified in another source?

Is the information free of grammatical, spelling, and typographical
errors? (These kinds of errors not only indicate a lack of quality
control, but can actually produce inaccuracies in information.)

Is it clear who has the ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of the
content of the material?

If there are charts and/or graphs containing statistical data, are the
charts and/or graphs clearly labeled and easy to read?

Criterion #3: OBJECTIVITY

Is the information provided as a public service?

Is the information free of advertising?

If there is any advertising on the page, is it clearly differentiated
from the informational content?

Criterion #4: CURRENCY

Are there dates on the page to indicate:

When the page was written?

When the page was first placed on the Web?

When the page was last revised?

Are there any other indications that the material is kept current?

If material is presented in graphs and/or charts, is it clearly stated
when the data was gathered?

If the information is published in different editions, is it clearly
labeled what edition the page is from?

Criterion #5: COVERAGE

Is there an indication that the page has been completed, and is not
still under construction?

If there is a print equivalent to the Web page, is there a clear
indication of whether the entire work is available on the Web or only
parts of it?

If the material is from a work which is out of copyright (as is often
the case with a dictionary or thesaurus) has there been an effort to
update the material to make it more current?

                    Copyright Jan Alexander & Marsha
Ann Tate 1996-1999

The CARS Checklist for Research Source Evaluation

Another similar tool for evaluating information found on the Web which I
want to introduce you to is called the CARS checklist.  I have
summarized it below to get you started thinking about all that goes into
evaluating any piece of information on the Web.  By keeping the CARS
checklist (below) and the Alexander and Tate Criteria System (above) 
in mind, you will be able to critically analyze any Web page you come
across rather than just blindly accepting everything you see on the Web
as true and worthwhile.

Credibility: trustworthy source, author's credentials, evidence of
quality control, known or respected authority, organizational support.

Goal: an authoritative source, a source that supplies some good evidence
that allows you to trust it.

Accuracy: up to date, factual, detailed, exact, comprehensive, audience
and purpose reflect intentions of completeness and accuracy.

Goal: a source that is correct today (not yesterday), a source that
gives the whole truth.

Reasonableness: fair, balanced, objective, reasoned, no conflict of
interest, absence of fallacies or slanted tone.

Goal: a source that engages the subject thoughtfully and reasonably,
concerned with the truth.

Support: listed sources, contact information, available corroboration,
claims supported, documentation supplied.

Goal: a source that provides convincing evidence for the claims made, a
source you can triangulate (find at least two other sources that support
it).