Purpose: What?

Jackson Creek Middle School

Evaluating Web Sources

Purpose: What?

What is the purpose of this web page?

Information on the web can include basic facts, personal opinions, primary sources, secondary sources, links to other pages, and more.
Sometimes the web is not the best place to begin to search. Information on the web page needs to be complete and easy to use.
The depth of the information from a web site varies. Sometimes a web site may give too many details while others fail to present enough information about a topic.

Why does this web page exist?

Web pages inform, entertain, advertise, influence, or notify.
The purpose of the web page needs to be understood easily and to be expressed clearly.
Web pages have a wide audience, but sometimes web pages are designed for a specific group of people or age group.
Information needs to be presented with a minimum of bias by expressing more than one viewpoint.
If an argument is to be successful, information either supports or refutes the claim.
If the intent of the web page is not clear, advertisement or sponsors associated with the page may give an indication to it.

Pick one of these sites and see if it meets the PURPOSE criteria.

Last Updated: 04/14/10
Kristina McGlaun, Librarian
Jackson Creek Middle School