Fire and Ice
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if I had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
—Robert Frost
Tips for Searching Databases
URL Review
Why evaluate
Searching the Web
Evaluating the Web
Citing Resources
Why do you need to evaluate information from the web?
There is a famous cartoon of a dog typing at a work station, turning to another dog saying, "On the Internet, no one KNOWS you're a dog." In other words, anyone who has access to a browser can create searchable web pages for you to find. Contrast this with going to a bookstore or a library, where you are in a filtered collection of information. Publishers, editors, book reviewers, librarians, and bookstore managers all have different criteria for choosing what gets on the shelf. There are no such filters for the web. The internet is a wealth of information-some high quality and some poor quality. Some of the poor quality results from people making errors, passing on unverified stories, or deliberately misleading you or lying about topics. For example, a web site on the health risks of tobacco smoking maintained by RJR Nabisco might be suspect. A web site on Al Gore for president created and maintained by a Republican group would have a definite bias.
The assignment is to look for good web sites, but what does that mean? In this class we will explore techniques for evaluating internet sources and examine issues such as authority, currency, and intended audience.
You will probably use web resources in your work for this class. As you know, search engines provide a starting point and there are a number of them on the web. Some of the most popular are listed below.
- HotBot—Features an easy to use interface, novice searchers aren't required to use Boolean operators
- Google—Fast becoming a favorite because it bases its returns on the number of links to sites which meet the search criteria
- Direct Hit—Returns results by popularity; uses little orange people icons to rank sites by number of visitors and how they stayed.
- Northern Light—Quickly moving up into the favorites category for researchers, it encourages natural language queries.
Search Engine Tips
How do you pick a search engine? What makes a search engine "good"? The answers depend on a number of factors, some technical and others personal.
On the technical side, it can be argued that a search engine is good if it is current, has a large database, and returns relevant results. However, personal perceptions often influence the decision. Searchers generally favor one engine over another because it is easy to use and returns relevant results. In the end, the best search engine is the one that works for you.
There are ways to make your web searches more effective:
- Choose an engine you like and learn to use it well
- If a search term doesn't work, try a related term
- If you get too many results, use additional words to narrow your search
- If you don't get good results after a few searches, move on to another search engine
- Learn to use one or two other engines as a backup
For more information about using search engines see Search Engine Watch. The Web Searching Tips page offers a number of ways to use search engines more effectively.
Once you find what appears to be information relevant to your topic, you must take the time to evaluate it. Evaluating Resources: A Brief Guide discusses the evaluation process and contains links to other web sites which address the issue.
One of the problems with using information from the web is determining its validity as a resource. To evaluate internet sources it is important to examine issues such as authority, currency, and intended audience.
- What do we mean by authority?
- Who is the person or organization responsible for the web site?
- What are their credentials?
- What might their biases be?
- How can you verify their credentials?
- What do we mean by currency?
- How often is the page updated by its creator?
- If there are statistics, who collected them and when?
- Has this site been revised?
- What do we mean by intended audience?
- Why did the author put this information on the web?
- Is the information directed at a specific audience?
- Is it intended to inform, sell, persuade, explain...
Using the criteria we cover in class as guides, we'll evaluate these sites and make decisions about their authority, accuracy, and suitability as reference sources.
Bonus site:
Junkscience.com
Here is an example of the proper citation of this page:
McCullough, Helen. FS 101, sec.31 : Evaluating Web Resources. Allegheny College. 21 November, 2000 <http://merlin.allegheny.edu/employee/h/hmccull/fs/acarr.html>.
Top Go to Assignment 10: Environmental Holocaust Online
Go to FS 101 Class Page
