Not getting caught in the web: Credible sources on the web

1. Not getting caught in the web: Credible sources on the web Megan Lowe, Coordinator of Public Services

2. Session Overview • Survey of Current Attitudes • How Do You Feel About Web + Research? • Evaluating Websites • A Selection of Credible Websites • …and how to find more! • Q & A • Feedback • How Do Feel About Web + Research NOW?

3. Survey of Attitudes - Before • Do you currently allow students to use Internet resources in research assignments? • If no, why not? • If yes, are there any restrictions? • As in: no Wikipedia, no .coms, etc.? • Do you already have a list of sites you permit? • Do you have to approve Internet resources? • Or can they use anything, as long as they document correctly? • Do you use the Internet for research?

4. Students and the Internet Most of us don’t trust students to use the Internet because the students DON’T • Recognize the importance of authority • Critically assess resources for scholarliness • Understand the research process • Realize the dangers inherent to the Internet • Understand bias and the need for objectivity • Comprehend the provenance of ideas and concepts

5. You and Your Students • I’m not going to tell you that you should let your students use the Internet for research • I’m here to equip you with resources so you can equip your students as you see fit • There are two ways to approach equipping your students with regard to using the Internet for research, if you are inclined to do so

6. Students and the Internet: Way #1 • The method you use really depends on how much confidence you have in your students – and that might change semester to semester, or even class to class in a given semester • If you have a group of students you have confidence in, then one approach would be to let them use the Internet, provided they carefully evaluate the websites they encounter

7. Way #1: Evaluating Websites • There is a simplified list of criteria that students can use to assess websites • These criteria are based on features inherent to what we would recognize as scholarly resources • But they are generalized to account for the gray areas that occur in resources on the Web, since publishing on the Web isn’t regulated in a meaningful way(beyond legally speaking)

8. Evaluating Websites: Criteria • Accuracy – is the information verifiable in other, independent resources? • Authority – what are the credentials of the author(s) or organization(s)? • Coverage – how in-depth is the resource? What is its scope? • Currency – how old is the information itself? How old is the resource? • Objectivity – is there an obvious bias involved?

9. Students and the Internet: Way #2 • If you do not trust a group of students to effectively evaluate websites, then it may be easier to simply restrict them to certain resources • The next section of this presentation will cover several sites where students can find scholarly information • The sites either serve as portals to info or provide info directly

10. Way #2: Portals to Info • Portals don’t produce the info themselves; they usually serve as aggregators, providing organized lists of resources • Some of the best are created by institutions of higher learning, professional organizations, and even librarians (not that I am biased or anything) • Often times, one doesn’t have to go far to find good portals for websites

11. Portals to Info: Close to Home • All of the full-time reference librarians at ULM have created subject guides for the departments they serve as liaisons • They have vetted the resources they’ve listed on their sites, so you know you can trust them • These subject guides can be accessed from the Library’s home page or through the individual pages of the librarians

13. These subject guides are not standardized; they don’t all contain the same information or look the same. But all of them contain websites that have been vetted by the librarian responsible for the guide. The Pharmacy/Health Sciences listing is separate. http://www.ulm.edu/library/subjectguide.html

14. Keep scrolling – every department is covered!

16. Most of these are either created by or associated with universities or libraries.

17. Portals to Info: The BUBL • The BUBL describes itself as “an Internet-based information service for the UK higher education community” • As of April 2011 it is no longer being updated unfortunately, but it will be maintained • It covers all academic subject areas using the Dewey Decimal System • It was created and is maintained by the Centre for Digital Library Research of University of Strathclyde-Glasgow

18. http://bubl.ac.uk/

19. ipl2: Information You Can Trust • ipl2 is the result of the merger of the Internet Public Library and the Librarians’ Internet Index • It is hosted by Drexel University’s College of Information Science & Technology • A consortium of colleges and universities with information science programs comprise the entity responsible for developing and maintaining ipl2

20. http://www.ipl.org/

21. Voice of the Shuttle: VoS • VoS began in 1994 as a static collection of links and has evolved into a searchable database of resources • It covers all academic subject areas (and then some!) • It is also a wonderful resource for faculty and scholars in general, offering links to resources on academia, conferences, and related concerns • It is affiliated with the University of California, Santa Barbara, English Department

22. http://vos.ucsb.edu/

23. Aggregators: Similar to Databases • Technically, the portals themselves are also aggregators, in the sense that they pull together multiple resources for the researcher • But the resources we’re about to see don’t list resources like the portals – the user simply inputs keywords, and the resources return results, like a database or an Internet search engine…AND the results are scholarly, and oftentimes periodical articles NOT websites

24. Google Scholar • Google Scholar is a specialized Google search engine that focuses on scholarly documents (NOT sites) • It features books and periodical articles • There’s no guarantee of full-text for a result, but it does clearly display when full-text is available • It even indicates when a result is from a database like JSTOR, and if the searcher has valid access to the database, it’ll link the searcher to the article

25. http://scholar.google.com/

26. INFOMINE • Infomine calls itself “a virtual library of Internet resources relevant to faculty, students, and research staff at the university level” • It was built and is maintained by librarians from a variety of universities and colleges from around the nation • It draws from “databases, electronic journals, electronic books, bulletin boards, mailing lists, online library card catalogs, articles, directories of researchers, and many other types of information” http://infomine.ucr.edu/

27. http://infomine.ucr.edu/

28. Something a Little Different: DOAJ • DOAJ, or the Directory of Open Access Journals, serves as portal to vetted scholarly (peer-reviewed), open-access journals • It covers all disciplines • It’s all FREE, though some journals may require you to create an account (which is also free) for access • It updates constantly, as new journals are added • Many of them are in English or offer English translations of their contents http://www.doaj.org/

30. Something Else: Open J-Gate • Open J-Gate is like the DOAJ: it has similar aims and goals, is global, and updated every day • ¾ of their journals are peer-reviewed, scholarly journals; they offer professional/industry journals, which toe the scholarly line • It indexes “8959 open access journals, with links to full text” • It offers article-level searching and subject-browsing http://www.openj-gate.com

31. http://www.openj-gate.com/

32. The White Elephant: Wikipedia • Wikipedia is simultaneously one of the most useful tools I’ve ever encountered and one of the most frustrating • It has its uses in the context of research, but in an indirect way • Wikipedia content is good for a crash course in basic concepts, ideas, biographies, etc. – getting acquainted with the basics • The real treasures of Wikipedia are the notes, references, and external links

33. Many of these are legitimate websites, and they are linked and ready for access. Where they aren’t available on the web, researchers can still get references to look up, such as the books. Several of these are from Ole Miss, Facts on File, or other respectable .org sites. Many of these are legitimate websites, and they are linked and ready for access. Where they aren’t available on the web, researchers can still get references to look up, such as the books. Several of these are from Ole Miss, scholarly journals, and other .edu sites. More references researchers can check against library holdings or request through Interlibrary Loan. Good for a crash course, but it’s not a replacement for a real understanding of the topic. But this can help students quickly orient themselves contextually.

34. Final Comments on Wikipedia • If you let your students use Wikipedia, be clear – say they can use it to get to resources via notes, references, and external links, but not the content itself • Wikipedia is also good for connecting researchers with public domain documents, including often-studied literary, historical, and scientific texts

35. Final Comments on Wikipedia • And let me be clear: I’m NOT saying you should let your students use Wikipedia… • But I think there are ought to be a more universal attitude with regards to whether it should be allowed, at least within departments • Students get mixed messages when one professor says it’s okay to use, and another say it’s not, and then others take the indirect approach

36. Q & A

37. Survey of Attitudes - After • Will you feel more comfortable about letting students use the Internet for research now? • If no, what doubts or concerns remain? • If yes, on what terms? • With evaluation framework • List of permitted websites • Must approve sites • Will this session affect how you do research on the Internet?

38. Not Getting Caught in the Web • Presentation URL http://www.ulm.edu/~lowe/crediblewebsites.pptx • Sites Mentioned in This Presentation • The BUBL - http://bubl.ac.uk/ • ipl2: Information You Can Trust - http://www.ipl.org/ • Voice of the Shuttle - http://vos.ucsb.edu/ • Infomine - http://infomine.ucr.edu/ • Directory of Open Access Journals - http://www.doaj.org/ • Open J-Gate - http://www.openj-gate.com • My Contact • http://www.ulm.edu/~lowe • lowe@ulm.edu

39. Thanks for Attending! If the reference librarians can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to call on us!