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Evaluating Web Sources. Presenting by Amal Alhamal Ayra Almeida Zarina Sushina. Online Research Advantages vs. Disadvantages. Convenient Current Various. Not reliable Transient Costly. Criteria for Evaluating Web Resources:. Authority Accuracy Objectivity
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Evaluating Web Sources Presenting by Amal Alhamal Ayra Almeida Zarina Sushina
Online Research Advantages vs. Disadvantages • Convenient • Current • Various • Not reliable • Transient • Costly
Criteriafor Evaluating Web Resources: • Authority • Accuracy • Objectivity • Currency • Coverage • Design
Authority • Is there an author or sponsoring organization? • Is the page signed? • Are they have a good reputation? Are they well-known? • Is there an information about the author or a sponsor? • Is there a phone number or an address to contact for more information? • Is the website’s domain official? .com - Commercial .edu - Education .org - Organization .gov/.mil - Government .net - Internet Service provider /~ or % - personal name
Accuracy • Is there an editor or someone who can verify the information present in the website? • Does the information disagree with the information already gathered? • Is the information reliable and error-free?
Objectivity • Is there any advertising on the page? • What is the purpose of the website? • Does the content show bias? Is the bias explicit or hidden?
Currency • Is the page dated? • If so, when was the last update? • How current are the links? Have some expired or moved?
Coverage • What topics are covered by the website? • Are the topics discussed in-depth or just summarized? • How does the website compare in content to similar websites? • Is there an indication that the page has been completed, and is not still under construction?
Design • Is the content well-organized? • Is the overall design easy to comprehend? • Does the site contain pop-up windows that distracts user’s attention? • Does advertising pack and hide the main content?
Examples of online sources: • Good http://www.harvard.edu • Questionable http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us • Bad http://www.beastobama.com/
Conclusion Even though the World Wide Web gives a lot information for research papers it can be easily copied with omissions and errors. If you want to do online research you need to have a critical thinking in choosing the right source.
References: • http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html • http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html • http://people.wcsu.edu/reitzj/res/evalweb.html • http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/11605_12337.cfm • http://www.lesley.edu/library/guides/research/evaluating_web.html