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Bright Ideas: Internet Research. National History Day Workshop Herbert Hoover Presidential Library. Evaluating Webpages. WHY is it important to evaluate Internet resources? ANYONE can "publish" information on the Internet.
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Bright Ideas: Internet Research National History Day Workshop Herbert Hoover Presidential Library
Evaluating Webpages WHY is it important to evaluate Internet resources? • ANYONE can "publish" information on the Internet. • Unlike traditional print resources, web resources rarely have editors or academic reviewers. • No standards exist to ensure accuracy on the World Wide Web.
Evaluating Webpages Ask these three questions: • Author - WHO wrote the web page? • Bias - WHAT is the author's point of view? • Currency - IS this current or out-of-date?
WHO wrote the web page? • Who is the author? Is there any link that provides more information about this person - their profession, education, titles, etc.? • Is the author an authority on the subject? Example 1 Example 2 Example 3
WHO wrote the web page? But what if there is no author? • What organization or group created the webpage? .com, .gov, .org, .mil Example 1 Example 2
WHAT is the author's point of view? • Is the Web page sponsored by a corporation that wants to sell you something? • Who is the author and are they trying to sway your opinion? • Is the Web page owner an organization looking to present their point of view on an issue? Example 1 Example 2
IS this current or out-of-date? • Is the document dated? • Is the content of the work current or up-to-date? • Are there links to older or newer information? • Are the links up-to-date? Do the hyperlinks take you to "Not Found" pages? Example 1 Example 2
Review • Author - WHO wrote the web page? • Bias - WHAT is the author's point of view? • Currency - IS this current or out-of-date?
The MOST IMPORTANT question you should askwhen conducting any historical research This applies to any source: books, websites, documents, photos, videos, sound recordings...
The MOST IMPORTANT question you should askwhen conducting any historical research WHY is this important?
Getting Started http://www.nationalhistoryday.org http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ http://hoover.archives.gov
Acknowlegements Some examples borrowed from: EVALUATING INTERNET SITES 101!, written by Carol Anne Germain and Laura Horn.University Libraries, University at Albany http://library.albany.edu/usered/wwweval/aud/aud3.html