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Assessing Online Resources for Credibility. Faculty Summer Institute—May 2012. Focus for today . Evaluating websites Using databases To find credible articles To evaluate periodicals To evaluate books. Evaluating Websites. Authority (person or entity responsible).
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Assessing Online Resources for Credibility Faculty Summer Institute—May 2012
Focus for today • Evaluating websites • Using databases • To find credible articles • To evaluate periodicals • To evaluate books
Authority (person or entity responsible) • Qualifications/expertness/credentials • Affiliation with a reputable institution/company • Contact information or “About” information • Domain name (.edu, .gov, .mil, .us, .org, .com, .net)
Currency • When created • When updated • Links that are current • Links that work
Purpose • Type of website (personal, special interest/issues, professional, news, commercial, etc.) • Neutral/unbiased, advocating, selling, etc. • If advocating, look for “I think,” “it has been my experience,” “in my opinion,” etc.
References • Documentation of references/sources • Credible and authoritative references/sources • Current references/sources
Tips • Check more than one website to verify information • A tilde (~) in the URL usually indicates a person published the information • Shorten URLs to find the home page • Following are links to find out about sites: www.whois.net http://www.who.is/website-information/ http://www.whois.com/ • Go to library websites for lists of reviewed websites (usually categorized by subject)
Online Subscription Databases • MCC -- http://www.mclennan.edu/library/databases.html • Waco McLennan County Library -- http://www.waco-texas.com/cms-library/page.aspx?id=22 • Baylor -- https://www1.baylor.edu/ERD/Search/Search.aspx • Tarleton -- http://www.tarleton.edu/library/databases.html
Use databases to find credible articles Academic Search Complete (database)
Detailed Record of the Article
Permalink -- (a persistent, stable link to the record for the article and the article)
Use databases to evaluate periodicals (print or electronic) Ulrichsweb (database)
Use databases to evaluate books(print or electronic) Books in Print (database)
Contact Information Sharon Kenan, Research & Instruction Librarian McLennan Community College Library 1400 College Drive Waco, Texas 76708 skenan@mclennan.edu 254-299-8343