Relevance   Currency   Credibility   Objectivity   Design
  Evaluation Tool    What  to Avoid    Copyright Issues

Evaluating sources

The amount of information on the Internet is phenomenal. Much of it is of little consequence; some is excellent. However you must use discretion and critical thinking to choose what is appropriate. Some criteria to use when evaluating a document will help.

  1. Relevance: What's your point?
    What does the document under consideration have to do with your topic?
    Will your purpose and audience be served by the information presented in the article?
  2. Currency: Information on the web is not static; thus, it is constantly being updated.
    If you are researching the gender issue in online computer use, don't use data that is over six months old.
    There are survey sites that are updated monthly, so using outdated material will skew your statistics; be sure to see when the site was last updated.
  3. Credibility: If you find a dynamite article that you feel is really necessary to your thesis, don't copy it and move on. Check out the author and the site.

    Author

    Has she written any more articles?
    What are her credentials and affiliations?
    Can you contact her directly? Indirectly?
    Does the article adhere to the conventions of the discipline?
    Are sources and citations formatted properly?
    Is there a control of grammar and mechanics?
    Is there a variety of support used?
    Is the discourse one-sided or is there a range of development?

    Site

    Where is the article located?  
    Is advertising included at the site?
    Is the site educational, scholarly, commercial, non-commercial, or a combination?
    Is the contact information clearly stated?
    Does the site represent a group, an organization, an institution, a corporation or a governmental body?
    Does the site offer other lists of resources in a particular discipline or field?
    If a list of links is offered?
    Are criteria provided describing how the list of resources was chosen?
    What's the criterion for inclusion?
    Does the site refer to print and other non-Internet resources or just Internet resources?
    If the site is that of an electronic journal, is it peer-reviewed?
    Who publishes the journal?
    Who are the editors?

     
  4. Objectivity: Look at your topic in other search engines so that you can obtain a less subjective point-of-view.
    Peruse other electronic journals, educational sites and information repositories.
    Does the site claim to describe or provide the results of research or scholarly effort?
    Are sufficient references provided to other works, to document hypotheses, claims or assertions?
    Can the results be refuted or verified through other means--e.g., by use of library-related research tools?
    Does the author provide links to substantiating sites or information?

     
  5. Design:  Does the site follow standards of design, especially in regards of ease of use.
    6. Can you find information on the site easily?
    Do the links work?
    Do the graphics and art serve a function or are they decorative?
    Do the icons clearly represent what is intended?
    Does the text follow basic rules of grammar, spelling and literary composition?
    Is substance lost to "wow" technology?
    Does the design add or detract from the document itself?
    Are there clear indications of what each button is for?
    Are alternatives provided for those who have less than perfect conditions -- e.g., large print and graphics options; audio; alternative text for graphics?
    Can visitors get the information they need within a reasonable number of links (preferably 3 or fewer clicks)?
    Do images support ease of navigation and load quickly?
    Are navigational aids ample, i.e., do you know where you are within the site? Is a search engine provided?  A form to leave suggestions or praise?

What To Avoid

Anonymous sites.
Unconventional grammar or misspelled words.
Overly expressive, i.e.,  sentimental or negative sites.
Conflict of interest -- selling "the truth."
Gross generalizations.
Self-promotion sites, like vanity presses.
Lack of supporting evidence or corroboration.
Numbers or statistics presented without an identified sources.
Absence of source documentation.
One sided thinking.
Lack of dates or outdated information.
Poorly organized and designed sites.
Sites that may contain information quoted out of context or plagiarized or altered (intentionally or unintentionally).

Click on the links below to find out more:

Grassian, E. Thinking critically about World Wide Web resources
(http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/instruct/web/critical.htm)

Harris, R. Evaluating Internet research sources. (http://www.sccu.edu/faculty/R_Harris/evalu8it.htm)

Janicke, L. Resource selection and information evaluation
(http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/~janicke/Evaluate.html)

Libraries of Purdue University. Anyone can (and probably will) put anything up on the Internet
(http://thorplus.lib.purdue.edu/~techman/eval.html)

Ormondroyd, J., Engle, M., & Cosgrave, T. How to critically analyze information sources
( http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/skill26.htm )

Schrock, K. (Ed.). Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators: Critical Evaluations Surveys (http://www.capecod.net/schrockguide/eval.htm)

University at Albany Libraries. Evaluating Internet Resources
(http://www.albany.edu/library/internet/evaluate.html)

 

Use this link to test your evaluation ability: 

Grassian, Ester and D. Zwemer. "Hoax? Scholarly Research? Personal Opinion? You Decide!"
http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/instruct/hoax/evlinfo.htm [28 January 1998]

Citing Sources

Three different sites are dedicated to helping you cite your online sources correctly. The first is a source for the social sciences, so it discusses APA citation. The other two are guides to MLA documentation.

MLA

Copyright Issues

Because of the unique nature of digital media, some of the copyright laws that apply to printed material in the physical world don't work as well in cyberspace. However, some general principles apply.

The primary rule is you can't reproduce it in whole or in part without the permission of the original creator.

Even if you are not reproducing part of someone else's work for commercial purposes, you should still get permission.

Linking to other sites:

The culture of the Web encourages the free exchange of information; many websites actively court links. Notify the administrators or creators of that page that you have provided a link to their page. The "fair use" laws state that you can use an article or graphic one time only, say for an activity in the class; however, a good rule of thumb is to always get the permission of the copyright owner. It may be difficult to determine who holds the copyright, so see if there is a list of credits on the site. If not, send email to the contact for the website. In many cases, this is the webmaster who is usually a technical person who doesn't deal with content-related issues. You can also try to find a phone number of fax number for the person or company and call.

Other copyright sources:

Copyright Website.

 

 

Contents within this site are copyrighted by both the author of essays and/or Jan Strever.
The contents within these pages are solely those of the author and S.C.C.
should not be held responsible.  ©1999-2009
Last revised: November 19, 2009 by Jan Strever -- jstrever@scc.spokane.edu
Personal site:  http://www.js.spokane.wa.us/

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