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Unit 6 Evaluating Information. Can You Find the Answers. Use Google to examine the following web sites; decide if the site is trustworthy or questionable: Feline responses to bearded men Americans with no abilities act (onion) Aidsfacts. Unit 6 Evaluating Information. Criteria Standards
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Can You Find the Answers • Use Google to examine the following web sites; decide if the site is trustworthy or questionable: • Feline responses to bearded men • Americans with no abilities act (onion) • Aidsfacts
Unit 6Evaluating Information Criteria Standards Quality Applying Standards to Books Journals, Magazines Web Sites Bibliography citations
Standards for Judging Information • Suitability • Authority • Documentation • Objectivity
Suitability • Is the source relevant? • Who is the intended audience? • Is it an overview or in-depth? • Timeliness – when published, is that important?
Authority • Who is the author? • What do you know about the author? • Credentials • Other writings, reputation • If author is an organization, what do you know about it?
Documentation • Books • Contains index, bibliography, footnotes, what is length? • Periodicals – scholarly or popular? • Journal • Professional audience, footnotes, 5 or more pages, scholarly • Magazine • General audience, no footnotes, less than 5 pages, popular
Objectivity • Are a variety of views represented and argued? • Does the presentation encourage debate, discussion? • Are contradictory views suppressed? • Is language emotional, inflammatory? • Is objective to explore an issue or convert you to the “right thinking”?
Examples • “America the unready: homeland security (America’s defenses or lack of them)” – “The Economist” • “Homeland security (land of the controlled and home of the secure)” – “The Humanist” • “US congress approves more police-state powers (further greases the skids toward a police state)” – “The People”
Applying Standards to Books • Check author’s credentials, works • Does book have bibliography, index? • Who is publisher, publication date • Length (more than 100 pages?) • Is author’s approach objective or biased?
Evaluating Journal and Magazine Articles • Journal or magazine article? • Audience professional or popular • Length substantial or short (+ or - 5 pages) • Footnotes present or absent? • What do you know about author? Check for information within article • What do you know about the publication’s point of view? Conservative, liberal, right, left, center?
Web Sites • Accuracy • Information reliable or biased? • What does URL tell (.com, .org, .gov, .edu)? • Authority • Is authorship clear, can author be contacted? • Content and Currency • Purpose – inform, sell, propagandize? • Is there a clear date, when was page updated? • Documentation • Are sources given or footnoted?
Parts of a Web Page • Header • top of Web document, page title and URL • Title bar • actual title of page, may use to cite • URL or location bar • where Web address appears, vital for citing • Body • where text or content will be found • Footer • info on page author,sponsor, last update
Web Page URLs • Dot what? • .edu – educational institution • .com – commercial entity • .gov – federal government • .org – non-profit organization • .net – network provider • Odd mix – companies, associations, Internet service providers –
Library and Web Sources • Items in libraries (reviewed, filtered) • Books • Reviewed twice: by editor and then librarians • Journal articles • Subject to peer review process, editorial board • Magazine articles • Reflect credibility of journalist and editorial board • Web documents (unreviewed, unfiltered) • No peer review or editorial control • Credibility depends on judgment of user
Bibliography Citations • Citing • Gives credit to source of a quote, idea • Verifies reliability of your information • Describes the source used • Located at end of paper, lists materials consulted in alphabetical order • Follows certain style • MLA, CBI, Turabian, Chicago, APA
Parts of a Citation in a Record Author Title of Article Oresti, David. “Intelligent Life on the Web.” Computerworld. 32(4): 39-49. 1998 Nov. 30 issue Title of Journal pages date volume You need to use relevant information from the record to create a “citation”
Magazine and Journal Articles as Citations Magazine article from (abstract) database Bazell, Robert and Joan Irwin. “Science and Society.” New Republic 15 Mar. 1993: 13-14. Journal article from (abstract) database Oresti, David. “Intelligent Life on the Web.” Computerworld 32.4 (1998): 39-49. Journal article from full-text database Oresti, David. “Intelligent Life on the Web.” Computerworld 32.4(1998):39-49. INFOTRAC Expanded Academic ASAP. SUNY Plattsburgh Lib. 20 Sept. 2003 <http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/plattsburgh_main/>.
Book and Web Document Citations Book (MLA) Beard, Henry. French for Cats. New York: Boswell, 1991. Web document (MLA) – author, date identified Animal Lovers Society. Cruelty to Snakes. 6 June 1998. 4 Oct. 2003 <http://www.als.org/home.htm>. Web document (MLA) – no author, date identified Cruelty to Snakes. 4 Oct. 2003 <http://www.als.org/home.htm>.
Homework Assignment • Evaluate books, magazine, journal articles • Cite book, magazine, journal article • Evaluate Web site • Cite Web Site • Refer to Library Web site – Research Help – Citing Sources