Evaluating web pages, some tips and techniques: Week 7 lecture

Week seven of my studies was as beneficial as other previous weeks. Having learnt tips on evaluating web pages when I was an undergraduate student, I was back in class for a similar lecture but this time as Masters Student. As usual, the lecturer for the course was so composed and offered the best by asking the whole class to participate. 

Considering that there are millions of web pages on the Internet, the lecturer warned the class against believing in any information they access on the Internet. The lecturer then shared some techniques for evaluating websites which include the following: validity, reliability, authority, relevancy/ coverage and comprehensiveness, accuracy, currency/durability of information, navigation and design.

I just noted that elements such as publisher, author, reputation, timeliness, content are also applied when evaluating books and other print materials but the most unique element which attracted my attention is the domain name of the web page. 

I just learnt that it is important to pay a particular attention to the domain name ending when evaluating websites. This element can be helpful in identifying the type of site or page being dealt with. For example, the URL for the University is http://www.uwc.ac.za. The domain name ending .ac indicates that it is an academic institution. Consider the following figures:

The following video tutorial offers some extra web evaluating techniques and tips.