Sample of Criteria for Evaluation and Ranking

The following is a list of criteria developed by workshop participants to rank three groups of websites in the Web Site Evaluation Assignment.

1. Linked to a credible organization (e.g. American Bar Association) and other government agencies

2. Visually “neutral” but seems factual and not biased - especially in design

3. Statistics – current or not

4. Domain name - .com, .gov, .edu, .org, .net

5. Source of information – organized how? Purpose?

6. Disclaimers – excessive?

7. “About us”? – who constructed the site?  Can you contact the authors?

8. Advertising or trying to sell something

9. Quality and aliveness of links

10. Passwords – useful?

11. Design and graphics useful/usable – readable, navigable,

12. Edited for grammar, usage, typos

13. Motivation for the site, purpose of the site

14. Funding of the site by whom