Research Methods & Evaluation
for the Internet Generation
Jane Long
MLIS, University of Oklahoma
MA, English, Wright State University
Reference Services Librarian
Al Harris Library
jane.long@swosu.edu
The Internet is…
• a worldwide collection of computer
networks
• a major presence in our daily lives
• constantly growing and making an
enormous amount of information
available
Web Searching is easy
because…..
• Speed
• Choice
• Availability 24/7
• We always get an answer
Web searching is difficult
because …
• Organization
• Quality control
• Reliability
Anatomy of a URL
Take a look at Letterman in 1995:
Bill Gates and The Quiz Machine
There are many outstanding Internet
sources that are available for our use,
but….. How can we make decisions
regarding the appropriateness of various
web sites? How do we learn to make
good selections regarding information
that is available??
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
• Does evaluation help
us make choices
regarding a site?
• Whois.net
•
•
•
•
– www.whois.net
•
– This website gives us
information about the •
owner of sites.
•
.gov
.org
.mil
.com
.edu
.net
.int
Indicates a reliable domain name
Web Evaluation Techniques
• Is the information published by an
entity that makes sense ?
• News from its source?
www.washingtonpost.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?
• Webmaster?
• Web team?
• Organization?
• Institution?
• Company?
Step 1: Authority: Questions
1. Do you recognize the author's name? Is
there an author's name?
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: Questions
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: Questions
Determine 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 directed toward 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: Questions
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?
Evaluation Is Essential
• Look at how things have changed
regarding the information we have
available for our use.
Did You Know?
Web Evaluation Tools
• Alexa
Search the URL in Alexa -- www.alexa.com
Click on “Site info for …”
Who links to the site?
Who owns the domain?
What did the site look like in the past?
(use the “Wayback Machine” link)
Known for providing
information on web traffic
Exercise: Evaluation Handout
• Institute for Historical Review
– http://www.ihr.org/
• Pinehearst Inc.
– http://pinehearstresearch.com/index.shtml
• Southern Poverty Law Center
– http://splcenter.org/index.jsp
• Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
– http://www.deloitte.com/
• Harry Ransom Center
– http://www.hrc.utexas.edu
• American University for the Humanities
– http://www.auh.edu/
Google
• Larry Page & Sergey Brin/ Grad
Students 1998
• Mission: "to organize the world's
information and make it universally
accessible and useful.“
• 2008: 157 billion dollar corporation
Google: Improve Your Searches
Site Specific Command
What it does: searches only specific
domains
What to type: nursing jobs site:edu
nursing jobs site:com
nursing jobs site:org
Web vs. Library Databases
• Web
– Good for current
events
– Statistical Information
– Pop Culture
– Opinion
– Information about
Organizations &
Groups
• Library Databases
– Research Based Books
& Articles
– Full-text Resources
– Authoritative & Peerreviewed Materials
– Information about
People & Cultures
– Easier to Search
• AND, OR, NOT
• Specific Subjects
Google Scholar provides a simple way to
search for scholarly literature. The
search crosses 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
– Now included in SWOSU’s list of
databases
– We’re working on improving access
– Example: Greening Community Resources
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.
• Most active 1% of editors make 55% of changes.
• Number of new articles peaked in 2007 at around
60,000.
• As of 2009, better attempts are being made
regarding the control of inaccuracies.
Rosenzweig, Roy. “Can History Be Open Source? Wikipedia and the Future of the Past.”
Journal of American History 93.1 (2006): 117-146. Print.
Landgraf, Greg. “Wikipedia Growth Slows.” American Libraries Nov. 2009: 27. Print.
What does this mean when it
comes to research?
Here is what Wikipedia
has to say about using
Wikipedia as a source for
research
Writing Your Paper
• Writing Center
– Located in the basement of the library
– Call for appointment #774-7083
• MLA Style
– Style Sheets and LibGuide
– MLA Handbook at Reference & Circulation
Desk
– http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/
Questions?
 Contact

me:
Jane Long
• 774-3030
• jane.long@swosu.edu
• http://faculty.swosu.edu/jane.long/
• To help us improve our instruction please take
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Thank you!