140 likes | 312 Views
Evaluating Web Resources. How to judge the authority and accuracy of information found on the web. Pros Information is easily available to be downloaded and manipulated. Distance is no longer a factor in the exchange of this information.
E N D
Evaluating Web Resources How to judge the authority and accuracy of information found on the web.
Pros Information is easily available to be downloaded and manipulated. Distance is no longer a factor in the exchange of this information. More articles and data are becoming available electronically, specifically library resources. Cons Not all information has been reviewed or filtered. Flood of information can be overwhelming. It is more difficult to choose the valid sources. We do not rely on our print resources, libraries or librarians for information retrieval. Deluge of Web-Based Information
Authority- who created this site? • Affiliation - university, industry, association, none • Contact Information – email address • Reputation • Biographical Information/Credentials
Determining the Source • educational institution - .edu • a non-profit organization - .org • a company - .com • the government - .gov • the military - .mil • foreign - .ca, .uk, .de
Smart Searching • Advanced Search on Google will allow you to limit the domain name of the results of your search. • www.google.com click on advanced search, then limit by domain • For example: “only” from .edu or “don’t use” .com
Purpose • Inform • Entertain • Advertise • Provide Current Awareness • Persuade
Scope • Is material current? • Is their any kind of bias to the reporting of this information? • Is their a geographical limitation to the information? • Is the information historical?
Accuracy • Is there a bibliography or list of references on the site? • Has the information been altered from its original? • Does the author use objective reasoning? • Have you noticed any errors? • Can the information be confirmed? • Are the links to internal pages or pages within this site?
Examples of Inaccuracy • Were there Dinosaurs on Noah’s Ark?http://pblcoc.org/Resources/Apologetics/dinoark.htm • VirusMyth AIDS Homepage http://www.virusmyth.net/aids/index.htm • Martin Luther King http://www.martinlutherking.org
Presentation • Is the site easy to navigate? • How is information organized? • Are graphics used? Are they necessary? • How long does it take to load the page?
Overall Evaluation Ask yourself if this site is appropriate for your research.
Sources • Evaluating Internet Resources: A checklist http://www.infopeople.org/howto/bkmk/select.html • Five Criteria for Evaluating Webpages http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/webcrit.html • UMNGL Web Searching Guide http://www.unm.edu/~edserv/web-evaluation.html