Internet & Evaluation
Frederic Murray
Assistant Professor
MLIS, University of British Columbia
BA, Political Science, University of Iowa
Instructional Services Librarian
Al Harris Library
frederic.murray@swosu.edu
The Internet is…
• a worldwide collection of computer
networks
• ubiquitous
Web Searching is easy
because…..
• Speed
• Choice
• Availability 24/7
• Always get an answer
Web searching is difficult
because …
• Organization
• Quality control
• Reliability
Anatomy of a URL
Web Evaluation Techniques
• Domain name appropriate for the
content ?
• Restricted: edu, gov, mil, a few
country codes (ca)
• Unrestricted: com, org, net, most
country codes (us, uk)
Domain Names
• Which one is right?
–
–
–
–
www.whitehouse.com
www.whitehouse.gov
www.whitehouse.net
www.whitehouse.org
• Whois.net
– www.whois.net
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
.gov
.org
.mil
.com
.edu
.net
.int
Indicates a reliable domain name
Google: Improve Your Searches
Site Specific Command
What it does: searches only specific domains
What to type: children's health site:edu
children's health site:gov
Web Evaluation Techniques
• 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/
Remember to Evaluate!!!
• Authority
– Who created it? Who is responsible?
– What credentials do they hold? What makes them
qualified to discuss the topic?
• Accuracy
– Can the information be verified?
– Check the facts!
• Objectivity
– How is the information being presented?
– Is it objective or biased? What’s the point of view?
• Currency (important based on subject)
– When was it published?
– When was it last updated?
Step 1: Authority
• Web Pages
– Credentials/Qualifications/Reputation
– Who is responsible for content?
• Is it a commercial site?
• Is it a government site?
• Is it an education site?
Step 1: Authority: Questions
1. Who is responsible for the content?
Domain name? What does this indicate?
2. If you don't recognize the name, or
there is no name, what type of
information is given about the contact
information?
- Position?
- Organizational affiliation?
- E-mail address?
- Biographical information?
Step 2: Accuracy
• Web Pages
– Can the information be verified?
• Links to credible sites
• Copyright
• Works Cited
• Fact check with a printed source
Step 2: Accuracy
1. Does the website cite sources used to
present its information? What type of
sources are they? Scholarly? Popular?
2. Is it possible to verify the legitimacy
of these sources?
3. If the site is research-based, does the
website clearly identify the method of
research and the data gathered?
Step 3: Objectivity
Biased or Objective?
• Sponsoring Organization
• Agendas
• Political Propaganda
• Web hosting
http://english.aljazeera.net/News
http://www.foxnews.com/
http://www.npr.org/
Do you trust the author or organization providing the
information?
Step 3: Objectivity
Determine what is the aim of the author or
organization publishing the site.
What is the purpose of the web site?
1. Is it advertisement for a product or service?
2. Is it for political purposes?
3. Is it trying to sway public opinion on a social issue?
Do you trust the author or organization providing
the information?
Step 4: Currency
• Web Pages
– When was it created and last updated?
• Well maintained web sites have an indication
when it was last updated or modified
• Accessibility
– Dead links
• Stability
– Changes URLs frequently
Step 4: Currency
1. Is a date clearly displayed?
2. Can you determine what the date refers to?
When the page was first written?
When the page was first posted on the
Internet?
When the page was last revised or updated?
The copyright date?
3. Are the resources used by the author current?
4. Does the page content demand routine or continual
updating or revision?
5. Do the links on the page point to the correct
Internet site addresses?
Remember to Evaluate!!!
• Authority
– Who created it? Who is responsible?
– What credentials do they hold? What makes them
qualified to discuss the topic?
• Accuracy
– Can the information be verified?
– Check the facts!
• Objectivity
– How is the information being presented?
– Is it objective or biased? What’s the point of view?
• Currency (important based on subject)
– When was it published?
– When was it last updated?
Exercise: Evaluation Handout
•
Institute for Historical Review
http://www.ihr.org/
•
Boston Dynamics
http://www.bostondynamics.com/
•
Havidol
http://havidol.com/
•
Pinehearst Company
http://pinehearstresearch.com/index.shtml
•
Investigative Dashboard
http://www.investigativedashboard.org/
•
Breyer State University
http://breyerstate.com/
Google
• Larry Page & Sergey Brin/ Grad Students
1998
• Mission: "to organize the world's information
and make it universally accessible and
useful.“
• 2007: 23 Billion dollar corporation
Google Scholar
• Google Scholar provides a simple way
to search for scholarly literature.
Search across many disciplines and
sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses,
books, abstracts and articles, from
academic publishers, professional
societies, preprint repositories,
universities and other scholarly
organizations.
Google Scholar
• Works best for Citations
• Restrictions to Content
– Fee-based
– Often your Library already owns material
– We’re working on improving access
Specialized Search
• Wolfram/Alpha
–
A computational knowledge engine: it generates output by doing computations from its own internal
knowledge base, instead of searching the web and returning links.
• Scrius
–
For scientific information only. A web based comprehensive scientific research tool.
• Ipl2
–
Internet Public Library (IPL) and the Librarians' Internet Index (LII). A directory.
Researching the Deep Web
www.opte.org
Information Literacy
• Web
– Good for current
events
– Statistical Information
– Pop Culture
– Opinion
– Information about
Organizations &
Groups
– Need to Evaluate!
• Library Databases
– Research Based Books
& Articles
– Full-text Resources
– Authoritative & Peerreviewed Materials
– Information about
People & Cultures
– Easier to Search
• AND, OR, NOT
• Specific Subjects
Wikipedia
Wiki:
A Web application that allows users to add
content to a collaborative hypertext Web resource
(coauthoring), as in an Internet forum, and permits
others to edit that content (open editing).
Wikipedia
•
•
•
•
Jimmy Wales January 15, 2001
No Original Research
NPOV (Neutral point of view)
No owners, multiple anonymous
authors
• Anyone with Internet access can create
or edit an entry…Anyone
Wikipedia
• Contributors: male, English speaking,
denizens of the Internet.
• Problem is not that it disregards the facts,
but that it elevates them above all else.
• Most of the content is discussion/history of
edits & not the entries themselves.
Rosenzweig, Roy. “Can History Be Open Source? Wikipedia and the Future of the Past.” The
Journal of American History 93.1 (2006): 117-146
.
Wikipedia
• Participation maps popular, not academic
concerns
• It is a working community…but is it a good
historical resource?
• Lack of Critical Analysis
• Problematic as a sole source of information
• Like all encyclopedias…ok to start, terrible
place to stop.
• Benefits are to its active participants, not its
readers.
REVIEW
• Search Strategies
– Keywords/Boolean AND/OR/NOT
• Organization of Information
– Catalogs Al Harris/WorldCat/Ebrary
– Databases i.e. Ebsco Products
– Popular vs. Scholarly Resources
– Periodical Lists – Citation Searching
Review
• Critical Evaluation
– Authority, Accuracy, Objectivity, Currency
– Google: Site Specific Search
site:edu or site:gov
Writing Your Paper
• Writing Center
– Located in the basement of the library
– Call for appointment #774-7083
• MLA Style
– Style Sheets
– MLA Handbook at Reference & Circulation
Desk
– http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/
Questions?
• Contact me:
• Frederic Murray
• 774-7113
• frederic.murray@swosu.edu
Thanks!