Evaluating On-line and Printed Resources

Researchers have always been concerned with using valid sources in their work. Originally research mainly involved the investigation of printed matter, thus determining the credibility of sources was pretty straightforward. Since the advent of the Internet, however, determining what counts as a valid source has become more complicated. While the Internet has made researching more convenient by offering easy access to a wide range of information, it has also muddied the waters for researchers as they attempt to determine the validity of source material. For instance, unless a site is maintained by a well known organi!ation, it has probably not been reviewed or edited. In this case, the site is more likely to represent the views of a particular individual or group and less likely to provide information that is well researched and credible. Since anyone can create a website, it"s sometimes difficult to know how to read and evaluate the information.

Why Do I Need to Evaluate What I Find on the Web?

#he Web is a vast, disorgani!ed mass of resources of varying $uality and reliability. It contains over %&& million individual Web pages. %'( of these pages are commercial in nature. Only )( are educational or academic. *o editorial control, meaning anyone can publish anything, whether fact, interpretation or a complete fabrication.

+ou must critically evaluate anything you find on the Web in order to determine its reliability as an information source. When evaluating a Web site, ask yourself this $uestion, Would this site be an acceptable source for a research paper?

Pre-evaluation
-efore beginning research, you should make some decisions. Is your purpose to e.pose new ideas, support a certain viewpoint, show varying opinions on a topic, or something else/ 0fter answering these $uestions, you can decide which types of sources will help you the most. 1o you want informative, opinionated, scientific, or other kinds of sources/ When you have clearly defined your goals, you are ready to begin actually researching your topic.

Evaluate What You Have Found

0s you find information, it is important to critically evaluate that information before using it in a paper. 2verything you find should be evaluated. +ou should evaluate all books, television or radio program transcripts, interviews with individuals, 3ournal articles, and Internet sites to make sure they are reliable and to recogni!e any biases present. It is often appropriate to use sources that advocate a specific point of view, but you need to make sure that you understand and account for the biases shown. For e.ample, in a paper about the pros and cons of gun control, you may want to cite materials from the *ational Rifle 0ssociation and the 4enter to 5revent 6andgun 7iolence. #hese two groups will give you vastly different perspectives on the issue and a different 8spin8 on the same set of facts. It is your 3ob to analy!e materials and decide how to use them in your paper. #o help you do this, ask these $uestions,

Who is the author? What are the author9s credentials education, past writings, or e.perience in the area/ Is the author associated with an institution or organi!ation/ What are the values or goals of that group/ If it is an on line :

source, what are its links/

Is the information accurate? 0re factual statements and statistics verifiable/ 1oes the material contain footnotes and;or a bibliography/ For articles, have they been peer reviewed/ What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform, persuade, present opinion, report research, or sell something/ Who is the intended audience/ 1oes it show bias/ Is the material popular or scholarly/ Is the information timely? When was the information published/ Is the publication date important to the sub3ect matter/ 1o you need to update the information using other sources/

ritical !hin"ing

0bove all else, think critically about any source of information you find don"t take it at face value. If you"re not sure a source is reliable, try to verify its content using a source you know to be dependable.

Ho# an I Find Reliable Web $ites?

<ook for 8brand names8, Web sites created by people or organi!ations that you recogni!e as credible sources. 2.amples include, www.washingtonpost.com, =Washington Post> britannica.com, =Encyclopedia Britannica> www.census.gov, =?nited States 4ensus -ureau>

<ook at the site"s Web address =?R<>, In particular, e.amine the last three letters,

.com @ commercial Web sites. Aaintained by companies to promote business or by individuals to promote themselves. Often provide reliable information, but not necessarily. .edu @ colleges and universities. Aost official pages are reliable sources, but look out for tildes =B> in the ?R<. #his often indicates a student or staff member"s personal Web page, which can vary greatly in reliability. 0n e.ample of a personal page ?R< would be Chttp,;;www.umich.edu;Bddurant;D. .gov @ ?S Eovernment Web sites. Offer similar content to what most agencies provide in print. ?sually treated as acceptable sources for academic papers. .org @ organi!ations =not necessarily non profit>. Often contain e.cellent information, but in support of a specific position or agenda. 0naly!e their content carefully.

?se a Web directory to find good sources of information on a particular topic.

Organi!ed collections of links to Web resources 4reated by people -rowsable by sub3ect or topic, searchable in some cases Items included according to evaluative criteria, including accuracy and reliability of information.

Some Web directories that you might find useful include,

0bout.com, Chttp,;;www.about.comD 0cademic Info, Chttp,;;www.academicinfo.netD F

0rgus 4learinghouse, Chttp,;;www.clearinghouse.netD Internet 5ublic <ibrary, Chttp,;;www.ipl.orgD

%ore Online Resources

SEARCH E !I ES 0lta7ista Chttp,;;www.altavista.digital.comD 1ogpile Chttp,;;www.dogpile.comD 2.cite Chttp,;;www.e.cite.comD 6ot-ot Chttp,;;www.hotbot.comD Infoseek Chttp,;;www.infoseek.comD <ycos Chttp,;;www.lycos.comD Aetacrawler Chttp,;;www.metacrawler.comD +ahooG Chttp,;;www.yahoo.comD WebFerret 5rogram H available at Cwww.ferretsoft.com;netferret;inde..htmlD RE"ERE CE SI#ES WWWebster 1ictionary 0 Web of On line 1ictionaries One<ook 1ictionaries 0R#F< 5ro3ect, Roget$s #hesaurus Search Form 0tlapedia Online Encyclopaedia Britannica Online 2ncyclopedia Smithsonian %IR#&A' 'IBRARIES Koyner <ibrary #he -ritish <ibrary #he Internet 5ublic <ibrary #horL, #he <ibraries of 5urdue ?niversity #he WWW 7irtual <ibrary #he <ibrary of 4ongress #he Webliography, Internet Sub3ect Euides Chttp,;;www.m w.com;netdict.htmD Chttp,;;www.bucknell.edu;Brbeard;diction:.htmlIspecialD Chttp,;;www.onelook.comD Chttp,;;humanities.uchicago.edu;formsJunrest;ROE2#.htmlD Chttp,;;www.atlapedia.comD Chttp,;;www.eb.comD Chttp,;;www.si.edu;resource;fa$D

Chttp,;;www.lib.ecu.eduD Chttp,;;www.bl.uk;D Chttp,;;ipl.orgD Chttp,;;thorplus.lib.purdue.edu;inde..htmlD Chttp,;;vlib.stanford.edu;Overview.htmlD Chttp,;;lcweb.loc.govD Chttp,;;www.lib.lsu.edu;weblio.htmlD

#E(# ARCHI%ES 2lectronic #e.t 4enterM?niversity of 7irginia <ibrary 5ro3ect -artleby 0rchive 5ro3ect Eutenberg !)%ER *E # SI#ES ?.S. 4ensus -ureau, #he Official Statistics #homas, <egislative Information on the Internet ?.S. State N <ocal Eateway ?.S. Eovernment 5rinting Office

Chttp,;;ete.t.lib.virginia.eduD Chttp,;;www.columbia.edu;acis;bartlebyD Chttp,;;promo.net;pgD

Chttp,;;www.census.govD Chttp,;;thomas.loc.govD Chttp,;;www.statelocal.govD Chttp,;;www.access.gpo.govD '

?nited *ations EWS SI#ES #he e+ ,or- #imes on the Web #he Washington Post ?.S. *ews Online *ational Eeographic 4** Interactive

Chttp,;;www.un.orgD

Chttp,;;nytimes.comD .http,;;washingtonpost.comD Chttp,;;www.usnews.com;usnews;home.htmD Chttp,;;www.nationalgeographic.com;main.htmlD Chttp,;;www.cnn.comD

/ISCIP'I E0SPECI"IC SI#ES Research;1ocumentation in the 2lectronic 0ge =various disciplines> Chttp,;;www.bedfordstmartins.com;hacker;resdocD -edford <inks to Resources in <iterature Chttp,;;www.bedfordstmartins.com;litlinksD 7oice of the Shuttle, Web 5age for 6umanities Research Chttp,;;humanitas.ucsb.eduD 6 net, 6umanities and Social Sciences Online Chttp,;;h netF.msu.eduD Social Science Information Eateway Chttp,;;sosig.esrc.bris.ac.ukD Stanford 2ncyclopedia of 5hilosophy Chttp,;;plato.stanford.eduD 8Famous 5aintings 2.hibition,8 WebAuseum Chttp,;;sunsite.unc.edu;wm;paintD 5erseus 5ro3ect Chttp,;;www.perseus.tufts.eduD -edford;St. Aartin"s <inks to 6istory Resources Chttp,;;www.bedfordstmartins.com;history;historylinks.htmlD e+s+ee- International -usiness Resource 4enter Chttp,;;www.newsweek int.comD Science Online Chttp,;;www.sciencemag.orgD Windows to the ?niverse Chttp,;;www.windows.umich.eduD SI#2S FOR 270<?0#I*E SO?R42S OWhat is #his Stuff/ 2valuating What +ou Find on the WebP Chttp,;;www.lib.ecu.edu;Reference;libraryi.htmlD 84hecklist for 2valuating Web Sites,8 4anisius 4ollege <ibrary N Internet Chttp,;;www.canisius.edu;canhp;canlib;webcrit.htmD 82valuating Web Sites, 4riteria and #ools,8 Olin Qroch ?ris <ibraries Chttp,;;www.library.cornell.edu;okuref;research;webeval.htmlD 82valuating Internet Information,8 Internet *avigator Chttp,;;sol.slcc.edu;lr;navigator;discovery.eval.html D

Further $ources &or Evaluating Web $ites

Rutgers ?niversity <ibraries, 2valuating World Wide Web Information, Chttp,;;crab.rutgers.edu;Bschol!cr;eval.htmlD ?niversity of 4alifornia, <os 0ngeles, 4ollege <ibrary, #hinking 4ritically about World Wide Web Resources, Chttp,;;www.library.ucla.edu;libraries;college;instruct;web;critical.htmD ?niversity of Aichigan ?ndergraduate <ibrary, What to <ook For in a Website, C http,;;www.lib.umich.edu;libhome;?E<;research;evaluation;D World Wide Web 7irtual <ibrary, 2valuation of Information Sources, Chttp,;;www.vuw.ac.n!;Bagsmith;evaln;evaln.htmD R

4ourtsey of Koyner <ibrary Reference

Exercise 1
<og on to the Internet. #ype Owww.whitehouse.orgP in the address bo. and press enter. Read the full te.t article directed by the workshop leader and answer the following $uestions, :. What does the title of the article tell you about its content/ 6ow does the title influence your first impression of the article and its credibility/

F. 6ow do the images affect the credibility of the article/

'. Is there any specific language in the article that seems odd for a serious news story/ Why/

R. What writing techni$ues, such as $uotes or names of well known people, are used to give the story validity/ S. What evidence is there outside of the article that you can use to determine if it is a valid source/

). 0fter considering your answers, do you feel that this is a valid source/ Why/

Exercise 2
:. -rowse the Internet and find what you feel is a valid source for your ne.t pro3ect. F. 2.change sources with you neighbor and answer the $uestions in e.ercise : using your neighbor"s source. '. Return your answered $uestions to your neighbor.