IL Step 4: Evaluating Search Results

1. IL Step 4:Evaluating Search Results Information Literacy

2. Evaluating Information: Overview • Why evaluate search results? • Search results often contain irrelevant, inaccurate, and unreliable information • Before expending the effort to obtain the full content, read, and analyze information each search result represents, we should filter the search results to select a set of results most likely to be useful. • Evaluating information is an essential part of research • Key Questions • Is the information accurate? • Is it credible? • Is it appropriate for what I need? • Approach to information evaluation • Evaluate information sources • Consider information content • Analyze citations Information Literacy

3. Information Evaluation: Basic Criteria • Type of Document • The type of document can give an indication of the scope and content • Textbook → a good introduction to a subject • Conference Proceedings → Overview of the state of the art (most current) research findings • Books usually give a broader coverage than journal articles, but the latter tend to be more up to date Journal articles(Conference Papers) Books Book Chapters(Conference Proceedings) Information Literacy

4. Information Evaluation: Basic Criteria • Subject & Scope • Examine title, keywords, subject headings, abstract • Scan the preface, table of contents, index, bibliography ↓ • Does the document cover the right topic? • What is the breadth of the publication? • Does the document provide an overview of the topic or is it focused on a specialized aspect of the topic? ↑ • Is the document a primary research? • Original research that presents new findings and theories • Or a secondary research? • Compilation or evaluation of previously presented material • e.g., review article, textbook Information Literacy

5. Information Evaluation: Basic Criteria • Intended Audience • What type of audience is the author addressing? • Scientist, professionals, general audience? • Is the document • Too elementary or basic • Too advanced • Too technical or applied • Just right for your needs? ↓ • Start with the right type of information source • Date of Publication • Publication date should be appropriate for your project • Do you need the most current information? • e.g., life science research • Do you need the most established (validated) information? • e.g., information science research • Do you need information from different time periods? • e.g., historical research Information Literacy

6. Internet Information: Overview • Caveat Emptor - “let the buyers beware” • Characteristics of information on the Internet • Many document types • From blogs (personal opinion) to scholarly publications • Diversity of authorship & purpose • Anyone can create Web content for any purpose • Wide range of quality and trustworthiness • Information is typically not validated or peer-reviewed • Information could be inaccurate, incomplete, or biased. • Mixture of dynamic and static information • Some Web contents change daily, some are never updated • What the Internet lacks but libraries have • Process of selection and quality control • (editorial or refereed) Review process by the publisher • Selection process by the librarian Information Literacy

7. Internet Information: Evaluation Criteria • Coverage • Is the information relevant to research topic? • Subject & scope, intended audience • Accuracy • Can information be verified? • Citations & reference list available? • Can information be cross-checked with other sources? • Are there (grammatical, spelling, typographical) errors?→ no quality control • Authorship/Authority • Is it clear who wrote the document? • Are author’s qualifications available and appropriate? • Is there a sponsoring organization (or affiliation) for the author? • Who published the information? • Check the URL → university, company? • Objectivity • What is the purpose of the publication? • Why was this written for whom? • Is there a sponsoring organization for the author? • Is the information opinion, fact, or propaganda? • Currency • When was the document created (& updated)? • Look for broken links and outdated information ← Do not trust the date stamp Information Literacy

8. Information Evaluation: Exercise • Project: “Relationship between human activity and the temperature of the earth” • Use documents written by • An atmospheric physicist at Stanford University and founder of the Science and Environmental Policy Project • A Washington Post reporter who has written articles such as "Arctic Ice Shelf Crumbles Into Sea," and “Perils of the Greenhouse Effects.“ • The president of an Environmental club and publisher of a Web site that discusses the major causes of global warming in the last 100 years. • Project: “The current use of primates in scientific laboratories” • Which document will be most useful? • "Monkeys in our Labs," by Scott Gottieber, a USA Today staff writer. Published in USA Today Dec 15, 1989. Includes chart, "Number of Test Primates in the US, 1975-1985." • Laboratory Primate Advocacy Group website. LPAG is a nonprofit organization. Website last updated in 2012. "LPAG believes that the laboratory is no place for monkeys and nonhuman great apes.“ • "Better numbers on primate research," by Constance Holden. Published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Appeared in Science, a scholarly publication, on March 30, 2010. Information Literacy

9. Information Evaluation: Exercise • Project: “Social benefits & liabilities for tribes developing casinos on Indian reservations” • Select the source more likely to be current • Book published in 2002 about gaming on American Indian lands • Pechanga.net, Indian gaming news on the Internet • Select the database more likely to be relevant • Sociological Abstracts • Biological Abstracts • Select the source more likely to be authoritative • Peer-reviewed article published in UNLV Gaming Research & Review • Article published in Casino Life magazine • Select the source more likely to be accurate • Employment statistics from a newsletter published by a grassroots organization opposed to gambling • Employment statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor web site • Select the source more likely to suit the purpose of the report • Pechanga.net, Indian gaming news on the Internet • Peer-reviewed article published in UNLV Gaming Research & Review Information Literacy