John Kupersmith jkupersm [at] library.berkeley.edu A “Know Your Library” Workshop

1. Research-quality Web Searching Google and Beyond Part II John Kupersmith jkupersm [at] library.berkeley.edu A “Know Your Library” Workshop Teaching Library, University of California, Berkeley Spring 2008 Permission granted for educational use. Original has been modified in a few places. (LL) Original available at http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Handouts.html

2. Let’s visit … Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division What is your overall impression of the site? After you’ve evaluated the site, see next slide.

3. The site is a parody, as indicated by … • The overall topic. Dihydrogen Monoxide is chemical terminology for Water (H20)! • Content is unsupported by verifiable research, with no references to studies provided. • The “research” articles. They are surveys, given to no targetted group, asking them simply for their opinions. • Experts on this topic are either not identified or cannot be contacted. • Searching “Google” for references or links to this site finds indications it is meant to be a very clever joke. • Can you find other reasons for doubting the veracity of this site?

4. CRITICAL EVALUATIONWhy Evaluate What You Find on the Web? • Anyone can put up a web page • Many pages not updated • No quality control • most sites not “peer-reviewed” • less trustworthy than scholarly publications

5. Before you click to view the page... • Look at theURL -personal page or site ? ~ or % orusers or members • Domain name appropriate for the content ? • Restricted: edu, gov, mil, a few country codes (ca) • Unrestricted:com, org, net, most country codes (us, uk) • Published by an entity that makes sense ? • News from its source? www.nytimes.com • Advice from valid agency? www.nih.gov/ www.nimh.nih.gov/

6. Scan the perimeter of the page • Can you tell who wrote it ? • name of page author • organization, institution, agency you recognize • Credentials for the subject matter ? • Look for links to: “About us”“Philosophy”“Background” “Biography” • Is it recent or current enough ? • Look for “last updated” date

7. Examine the content • Text • possibly forged ? • why not a link to published version ? • Sources • documented with links, footnotes, etc.? • do the links work ? • Evidence of bias • in text or sources ?

8. Search the URL in alexa.com Click on “Advanced” next to search box. At Advanced Search page, Site Information section, enter the URL into Site Info Overview box. Who links to the site? Who owns the domain? What did the site look like in the past? (Visit the Wayback Machine) Do some detective work

9. Which blogs link to it? What do they say? Try the URL in Google Blog Search See what links are in Google’s “Similar pages” Look up the page author in Google

10. Does it all add up ? • Was the page put on the web to • inform ? • persuade ? • sell ? • as a parody or satire ? • Is it appropriate for your purpose?

11. Try evaluating some sites... • Search a controversial topic in Google • nuclear armageddon • prions danger • “stem cells” abortion • Scan the first two pages of results • Visit one or two sites • evaluate their quality and reliability