Web Activity: Evaluating Websites for Women and the West
It is very important to learn to think critically information that you find on the internet. Just because it is
online doesn’t mean it is true (or that it is the whole story!). So how can we know what information is
trustworthy and accurate? In this assignment, you will be evaluating a website that includes information on
19th century Women in the West. You will be evaluating your website for general accuracy, credibility and
currency. You will also be evaluating the website for its content relating to women’s history specifically.
1. Choose from one of the following websites for your evaluation:
 BlackPast.org Pages on African American History in the American West
http://www.blackpast.org/aaw/african‐american‐history‐american‐west
 San Francisco Digital Archive http://www.foundsf.org
 PBS “New Perspectives on The West” http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/program/
 Angel Island Immigration Station http://aiisf.org/
(this site mainly covers early 20th century history, but it is still connected to ideas we have been
exploring about female immigrants (and diversity) on the West Coast.)
 Utah History‐to‐Go: http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/pioneers_and_cowboys/
(Start with this link and click on the blue links on the left hand‐side to further explore the
content)
2. Conduct a General Website Evaluation:
Print out the Website evaluation checklist (see this week’s Assignments to download this
document) to help you think critically about your website. This checklist will guide you through
some questions regarding the accuracy, credibility, clarity, and purpose of the site as well as how
current the information is. You will not be handing in this checklist, just simply use it to help guide
your thinking. Write up the important points of what you discovered in a narrative form (1‐2
paragraphs).
3. Conduct a Women’s History Evaluation on the Website:
Secondly, you will explore your website and evaluate it for how well it presents women’s history
and a woman’s perspective in the West. If it is a general website on the West, search the site for
articles specifically pertaining to women. Evaluate how many pages are devoted to women and
how the information is portrayed. Does the site reflect the diversity of women’s experiences in the
West? Consider how the site confirms, expands or contradicts information that we have learned in
lecture and readings this week on women in the West (and other weeks that may be relevant). As
usual, you want to make sure to reference specific details, quotes and primary sources from lecture
and readings to back up your ideas and enhance your discussion. Write this up in narrative form (2‐
3 paragraphs).