Evaluation of Internet Sources: A Checklist.

• How easy is it to get to the site? Can it be read by standard browsers?
• How easy is it to use the site? Are the screens logical and the directions clear? Are there clues to where you are and what you are looking at?
  How did you find it? Is it listed or indexed by the common Internet search engines? do its identifiers cover the subject;are they unique enough to cut down on partial matches?

• *Is the content accurate?* Is the information of sufficient depth or breadth to make access worthwhile? Are there additional links that lead to related material? Are the links to other material logical and meaningful? Is it easy to get back to the original menu?

• Does the material address your question or your research or entertainment needs? How good is the information? Is it worth accessing in the first place?

• Is the information timely as well as accurate? Is the material updated as needed?(may be dated at the foot of or elsewhere on the page)

• What is the site's purpose? Why is the information being provided?

• Educational sites should provide unique information; examples include the National Gallery of Art site, many museum sites or various library catalogs. If it is free on the Internet and it is a database, an encyclopedia, or other reference work, it might be available locally, possibly in a more recent version.

• Social sites provide social interaction, entertainment, and personal information. If the site is designed to provide profit to the organizers(i.e.,if you have to pay a fee to use it) it may be cheaper to find another site or another way.

• Commercial sites will advertise products or services- such as the many catalogs online. Is there enough additional information to make it a value-added site? For example, some firms include information about the company, or provide do-it- yourself tips.

• The authority of the writers and providers of a site is a related issue to the purpose and agenda. Who wrote the pages?(who is the author?) Who is providing the information?(who is the publisher?) Designers should be willing to identify themselves with their work, and providers, if different, should also identify themselves. (3) Sites of professional associations are often well identified and authoritative regarding particular subjects.

• Is the site easy to use? Are the buttons or links logical and consistent? Are the screens easy to read? Are the screens cluttered? (4)(5)

• Is the text or content focused on the needs of the users? Are the sentences and directions clear? Is the grammar correct, within normal usage? What about the spelling? Is the use of all CAPITALS limited to warnings or other points that need emphasis?(4)

• Do the pages or screens show their relation to each other by common design elements, labeling, or directional cues?(3)
• If you use a site frequently, is the material edited from time to time, adding new or more current information or features as the software changes? Is it interactive so that users can use buttons, forms, and feedback instruments? If so, do the added features work coherently?

• Is the site free? Does it require a subscription or a one- time fee? Does it require registration, including an e-mail address? After you register at a site, do you then receive unsolicited e-mail or regular mail?

• How long does it take to load? A response time of 15 seconds is considered to be the upper limit of most peoples' patience(4). A courteous designer will allow users to choose to load the pages without the images (text only) to speed loading or accommodate text browsers(3).
• If loaded without images, does the loss of graphics distort the meaning?
• Does the elapsed time to load a document vary by the time of day? Response time is not under the full control of the designers, but a good page will be built to load in a few seconds on most client servers.

• Is the site stable? Does the link address change frequently? Is a page left open with the new address or link? Sites that disappear cause frustration.