Evaluating Internet
Resources
Unlike similar information found in newspapers or television
broadcasts, information available on the
Internet is not regulated for quality
or accuracy; therefore,
it is particularly important for the individual Internet user to evaluate the
resource or information.
Keep in mind that almost anyone can publish anything they wish on the Web. It
is often
difficult to determine authorship of Web sources, and even if the author is listed,
he or
she may not always represent him or herself honestly, or he or she may represent
opinions
as fact. The responsibility is on the user to evaluate resources effectively.
Ask yourself these questions before using resources from
the World Wide Web:
Author
- Is the name of the author/creator on the page?
- Are
his/her credentials listed? (occupation,
years of experience, position or education)
- Is the author qualified to write on the given topic?
Why?
- Is there contact information,
such as an e-mail address, somewhere
on the page?
- Is there a link to
a homepage?
- If there is a link to
a homepage, is it for an individual
or for an organization?
- If the author
is with an organization, does it appear
to support or sponsor the page?
- What
does the domain name/URL reveal about
the source of the information, if anything?
- If the owner is not identified, what can you tell about
the origin of the site
from the address?
Note: To find relevant information about the author, check
personal homepages on the Web, campus
directory entries and information retrieved
through search engines.
Also check print sources in the Library Reference area; Who's Who in America,
Biography Index, and other biographical
sources can be used to determine the author's
credentials.
Purpose
Knowing the motive behind the page's creation can
help you judge its content.
- Who is the intended audience?____Scholarly audience
or experts ____General public or novices?
- What does the site attempt to do?
If not stated, what do you think is the
purpose of the site? Is the purpose to:
- ___Inform or Teach?
- ___Explain or Enlighten?
- ___Persuade?
- ___Sell a Product?
Objectivity
- Is the information covered fact, opinion, or propaganda?
- Is the author's point-of-view objective and impartial?
- Is the language free of emotion-rousing words and
bias?
- Is the author affiliated with
an organization?
- Does the author's
affiliation with an institution or
organization appear to bias the information?
- Does the content of the
page have the official approval of
the institution, organization, or company?
Accuracy
- Are the sources for factual information clearly listed
so that the information can be verified?
- Is it clear who has the ultimate responsibility
for the accuracy of the content of
the material?
- Can you verify any of the
information in independent sources
or from your own knowledge?
- Has the information
been reviewed or refereed?
- Is the information
free of grammatical, spelling, or typographical
errors?
Reliability and Credibility
- Why should anyone believe information from this site?
- Does the information appear to be valid and well-researched,
or is it unsupported by evidence?
- Are
quotes and other strong assertions
backed by sources that you could check
through other means?
- What institution
(company, government, university, etc.)
supports this information?
- If it is an
institution, have you heard of it before?
Can you find more information about it?
- Is there a non-Web equivalent of this material that
would provide
a way of verifying its legitimacy?
Currency
- If the information is of a current nature, is it
kept up-to-date?
- Is there an indication of when the
site was last updated?
Links
- Are links related to the topic and useful to the
purpose of the site?
- Are links still current, or have
they become dead ends?
- What kinds of
sources are linked?
- Are the links evaluated
or annotated in any way?
Note: The quality of Web pages linked to the original
Web page may vary; therefore, you must
always evaluate each Web site independently.
Conclusion
- Be very critical of any information you find on the
Web and carefully examine each site.
- Web pages are susceptible to both accidental and
deliberate alteration, and may move or
disappear with no notice.
- Print out or
download all pages you plan to use
in your research so that your bibliography
will be complete and accurate.
- Are you
sure the Web is where you want
to be? It may take an hour to find
the answer to a question on
the Web
that would take a Reference Librarian
two minutes to find. When
in doubt, ask a Librarian!
Test your
evaluation skills using the checklist above.
Which of these sites are legitimate sources
of information? 1) Feline Reactions to Bearded Men -
http://www.improbable.com/airchives/classical/cat/cat.htmll
2) Dihydrogen Monoxide - http://www.dhmo.org/
3) The True but Little Known Facts about Women and
Aids, with documentation -
http://147.129.226.1/library/research/AIDSFACTS.htm
Compare the following two sites. Ask yourself:
- Is the information covered fact, opinion, or propaganda?
- Is the author's point-of-view objective and
impartial
4) Secondhand Smoke: The Big Lie - http://www.jeremiahproject.com/smoke/corrupt.html
5) OncoLink - http://oncolink.upenn.edu
Compare the following two sites. Ask yourself:
- Why should anyone believe information from this
site?
- Is there a non-Web equivalent of
this material that would provide a way
of verifying its legitimacy?
6) Human Rights Watch, World Report 1999 on Tunisia
-
http://www.hrw.org/hrw/worldreport99/mideast/tunisia.html
7) Documents: Human Rights in Tunisia
-
http://www.tunisieinfo.com/documents/indexenglish.html
Additional Information on Evaluating Internet Resources:
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