Have you ever Googled a topic and found ridiculous Web sites?  Ever accidentally ended up in "hate" sites?  How about very slanted and biased sites?  Unfortunately, these are all part of the problem with the 'World WILD Web', as I like to call it.  Yes, it can be Wonderful, too, but it does have some pretty frightening, confusing and incorrect information on it.  Don't get me wrong.  I enjoy using Google to find quick and elusive information just as much as everyone else does.  But what worries me is that not everyone is evaluating what they find … v e r y carefully.

In "Information Literacy" sessions taught by Ohio Wesleyan public service librarians, students have probably heard about the importance of evaluating the Web sites they find.  Discovering the purpose of the site is important.  One clue to what the creators of a Web site might have in mind is to look at the "domain name."  This is the part of the Web address after the last "dot."  A ".com" means that someone is trying to SELL you something.  Buyer beware!  An ".edu" — as you might guess — is "educational" or coming from an academic institution, so you could probably believe in the legitimacy of the site.   A ".org" means an organization built the Web site and they just might have a particular bias to promote.

Here are some further questions to ask yourself about the Web site:

Who is the "author?"  Can you find a name, an organization, an agency, a group who claims authorship?  If you can't, be suspicious.  Why doesn't the creator want to claim authorship?

When was the site last updated?  Look for recent updates.  We all know that if the site hasn't been updated since 1999, not much is happening there.  Sound like an abandoned Web site to me!  So, the information will be dated.  No new information will be included.

Is there any way to contact someone responsible for the site?  If not, my antenna start waving.  If they just want to publish a Web site and then remain elusive and mysterious…why should I trust them to give me good information?  Why don't they want to be associated with the information on the site?  Hmmmmmm

Is there a "tilda" (~) in the Web address?  That is the clue that this site is a "personal" site.  Not that that is always a bad thing…but just a reminder to you that the information is coming from one person…someone's opinion…very subjective.

Is this Web site a spoof or parody site?  Thank goodness there is plenty of humor on the WWW.  But some of the humorous sites can be confused with reality!  Check out Male Pregnancy and see how it "seems" possible?!  And then click on the disclaimer at the foot of the homepage…it sounds reasonable, doesn't it?  Can you find where Dwayne Medical Center and RYT Hospital are located?  No?  Go to this Web site and read more about these places:

Beware of comedians who design Web sites which look so convincing.

Naturally, you would never want to cite a Web site in a research paper which you have not evaluated by using some of the suggestions mentioned.  In much the same way you have to evaluate books and articles by reading them and looking for clues to their authenticity, you must apply the same rules of evaluation to the World Wild Web.  Here are some Web sites which will help you become a more discriminating "surfer:"

• Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply and Questions to Ask
• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly; or, Why It's a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Sources
• Lesley University, Evaluating Web Sites
• Widener University, Wolfgram Memorial Library, Evaluate Web Pages

Beware of the 'World WILD Web!'

Research with caution!