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Evaluating Resources on the Web

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Tip #3: What pages LINK FROM the author's page?

Questions to ask:

How reliable are the pages that the author's page link to?

  • Do these pages support or contradict facts or opinions on the author's page?
  • Do these pages add any new information on the topic?
  • Are the pages on another site or the same site?
  • Are the pages from the same or a different domain?

Why?

"Links from" a Webpage are like footnotes in a hard copy document; they may provide a context for evaluation. They can reveal how an author supports his or her argument and what other information he or she considers worth linking to.

How?

Click a link to open it. If a link is no longer working, truncate the URL and try to find the same or related page on the same site. Here's how: run your cursor over the URL then select and delete from the right side back, stopping at different '/' marks. You can also use a search engine to search for the same file name on the site.

Example:

All links from the 21CIF web site are intended to support the facts and opinions presented. Many of these linked pages offer additional information, deepening the readers knowledge on specific concepts. Many pages link to well-known external organizations (.org), networks (.net), and educational (.edu) institutions. Other links point to educationally focused commercial (.com) and government (.gov) web sites.