Laura Leach April 29, 2011 Charlotte AHEC, Charlotte, NC

1. Evaluating Web Resources Or Save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus Laura Leach April 29, 2011 Charlotte AHEC, Charlotte, NC

2. If it is on the Internet it must be true. http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

3. Where to start? • A CRAB • CRAAP • AAOCC • SPAT • Who, What , When, Where, Why

4. A CRAB • Authority • Currency • Relevance • Accuracy • Bias http://www.stlcc.edu/libraries/Research/Evaluate_Sources.html

5. CRAAP • Currency • Relevance • Authority • Accuracy • Purpose http://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/eval_websites.pdf

6. AAOCC • Accuracy • Authority • Objectivity • Currency • Coverage http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/sciences/guides/how_to_evaluate_electronic_resources

7. SPAT • Site • Publisher • Audience • Timeliness http://www.spat.pitt.edu/ • SPAT • Site • Publisher • Audience • Timeliness http://www.spat.pitt.edu/

8. And Finally…the 5 W’s • Who • What • Where • When • Why

9. Currency/When/Timeliness • How recent is the information posted? • How recent/when was the information posted? How recent was the web site updated? • Do you need current information? (advances in radiation therapy vs. biography of Madame Curie) • Do all of the links work on the site?

10. Relevancy/Coverage/Audience • Is the information provided relevant to your topic? • Who is the audience for this site (elementary school, high school, college, health care professionals, low literacy level, high literacy level)? • Is there in-depth coverage of the topic with multiple links to additional supplemental material?

11. Authority/Who/Publisher • Is it clear who authored/posted the site (individual, corporation, association, etc.)? • Can you contact the author/webmaster (email, phone, etc.) • Does the author have “An about” page listing qualifications, publications, education, etc? • Can you find any publications by the author in scholarly journals or has he/she been cited by other authors in their work? • Is the author an authority on the topic he/she is writing about (i.e., On a site for the health benefits of dark chocolate does it matter that the author has a PHD in public health behavior and is not a MD/Physician or nutritionist.)? Do their publications relate to the topic discussed? • Who is the author affiliated with (educational institution, government, commercial company, etc)?

12. Accuracy/What • Is the web site free of typos and spelling errors? Professionally designed or created by someone like myself? • Can you verify this information from other independent sources not affiliated with the author? • Is the source of the information cited (books, journals, blogs, other web pages, etc.)? • Is the information based on evidence or the author’s opinion?

13. Purpose/Why/Bias/Objectivity • Why was this web page created? • Do the authors state their purpose? Is there a link to a purpose statement? Is there a link to an editorial page or editors? • Are various points of view presented or just the author’s view? • What bias if any do you see in the information presented?

14. Web sites • HonCODE http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/Patients/Visitor/visitor.html • Quack Watch http://www.quackwatch.org/ • Snopes.com http://www.snopes.com/

15. An easy rubric to use for evaluating web sites is the one developed by the librarians at California State University – Chico. CRAAP Rubric – http://library.lsco.edu/04_GetHelp/documents/WebPageRubric.pdf

16. Questions

17. Tutorials • Web Evaluation – Portland Community College http://www.pcc.edu/library/research/tutorials/video/eval_internet/ • The Internet as a Research Tool http://northnet.northland.ac.nz/moodle/file.php/1/video_clips/web_referencing/VideosMenu.html

18. If it is on the Internet it must be true. http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/