Lesson 15
Evaluating Electronic Information
Computer Concepts
BASICS 4th Edition
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Objectives
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Identify reasons for evaluating Internet
resources
Identify criteria for evaluating electronic
information
Describe software piracy
Identify Internet resources
Understand the rules of copyright
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Computer Concepts BASICS
Objectives (continued)
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Identify false information, including hoaxes
and urban legends
Cite Internet resources appropriately
Explore other legal and ethical issues
concerning information students obtain from
the Internet
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Computer Concepts BASICS
Vocabulary
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copyright
currency
hoax
identity theft
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navigation
patent
plagiarism
public domain
Computer Concepts BASICS
Vocabulary (continued)
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sponsored site
trademark
urban legends
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shareware
software license
software piracy
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Computer Concepts BASICS
Criteria for Evaluating Electronic
Resources
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Anyone, anywhere, can put anything on the
Internet
Determining Authorship:
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A well-developed resource identifies its author
You can search the Internet to find out more
about the originator of information
The domain portion of the Web site address can
provide information, i.e. .gov is for government
Computer Concepts BASICS
Criteria for Evaluating Electronic
Resources (continued)
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Relevance and Reliability:
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Do not accept information presented on the
Internet at face value
Is the site trying to sell a product or service?
You can also check similar resources at the
school library
Timely Content:
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Currency refers to the age of the information.
Check to see how often the site is updated
Computer Concepts BASICS
Criteria for Evaluating Electronic
Resources (continued)
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Validity and Bias:
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A site is valid if it is objective and unbiased
Check resources that contain similar information
Check for spelling and grammatical errors
Site Navigation:
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Navigation is the ability to use links to move
through a site
All links should be: easy to identify, grouped
logically, and pertinent to the subject of the
original page
Computer Concepts BASICS
Types of Internet Resources
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There is a vast array of electronic resources
on the Internet including magazines,
newspapers, journals, e-mail, blogs, and
videos
Search Engines
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Search engines are programs written to query
and retrieve information stored in a database
A sponsored site is a site that has paid the
search engine a fee in exchange for being listed
in the "Sponsored Sites" section on many of their
pages
Computer Concepts BASICS
Types of Internet Resources
(continued)
Sponsored sites in a Google search for Web site evaluation
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Computer Concepts BASICS
Web Sites and Copyright Rules
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Copyright is the exclusive right, granted by law for a
certain number of years, to make and dispose of
literary, musical, or artistic work
A trademark is similar to a copyright but relates
specifically to visual or commercial images
Processes and business methods may be protected
by patents
If copyright protection has lapsed, then the work is
deemed to be in the public domain and is available
for anyone to copy
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Computer Concepts BASICS
Software Piracy
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Software piracy is the unauthorized copying
of software
When a user purchases a software program,
they are purchasing a software license to
use the program
Shareware is software distributed on an
honor system.
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Most shareware is free for an evaluation period
but requires payment if you continue to use it
beyond the evaluation period
Computer Concepts BASICS
Citing Internet Resources
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Internet resources used in reports must be
cited
General guidelines for citing electronic
sources can be found in:
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MLA Handbook for Writer of Research Papers,
published by the Modern Language Association
The Chicago Manual of Style is another source
for this information
Computer Concepts BASICS
Hoaxes, Urban Legends, and other
False Information
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A hoax is an attempt to deceive an audience into
believing that something false is real
Urban legends are stories that at one time could
have been partially true, but have grown from
constant retelling into a mythical yarn
Warning signs of a virus include an e-mail that is:
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A warning message about a virus
Wordy or in capital letters
Urges you to share the information
Describes the virus in technical terms
Comes with an attachment from an unknown source
Computer Concepts BASICS
Hoaxes, Urban Legends, and other
False Information (continued)
Hoaxes, myths, urban legends page
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Computer Concepts BASICS
Other Legal and Ethical Issues
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Information obtained from an Internet site and
claimed as one's own, even non-copyrighted
information, is plagiarism
If you publish information about another person and
it is not true, you can be sued
Identity theft is when criminals gather personal
information, acquire credit, and conduct transactions
using false identities
Pranks and hoaxes may not be against the law, but
they can still cause harm to innocent people
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Computer Concepts BASICS
Evaluation Survey
You can use the information in this lesson to
construct a survey to evaluate electronic resources
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Survey form
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Computer Concepts BASICS
Lesson 15
Summary
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In this lesson, you learned:
 The criteria for evaluating Internet resources include
authorship, content, copyright information,
navigation, and quality.
 The Internet contains various types of resources,
including electronic journals, magazines,
newspapers, Web sites, and e-mail messages.
 Internet publications and Web site content can claim
the same legal protection as books, newspapers,
CDs, movies, and other forms that are protected by
copyright law.
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Computer Concepts BASICS
Summary (continued)
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You must cite any information that you use from the
Internet. The MLA style is widely used for citing electronic
resources.
Internet hoaxes, urban legends, and false information
continue to increase because of the Internet.
Using the Internet introduces legal and ethical issues
such as plagiarism, which is copying information from
another source and claiming it is your own, even if the
information is not copyrighted. Another growing problem
is identity theft, which occurs when criminals gather
personal information, acquire credit, and conduct
transactions using false identities.
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Computer Concepts BASICS