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Evaluating Materials on the Internet
Contents: [ why
evaluate information ] [ problem with Internet ] [making
a first pass ] [evaluation criteria ]
[ practice evaluating ]
Why do you
need to evaluate the information you use?
.... because
the argument, information, project, etc. on which you are working
is only as strong as the evidence you bring to it. Your writing
or presentation takes on the "character" of your
sources.
If you use unreliable
sources, your own paper will be unreliable and unbelievable. In
most cases, you are not an expert. So to be believable to your
readers, you must bring to your paper the opinions and research
of experts. Such sources are written by the experts themselves or
rely on expert opinion/research for their content.
The problem
with searching the Internet
... is the
lack of quality control. Anyone can put anything "out
there" on the Web. It is chock full of useless junk with
some pearls scattered here and there, and you must be able to
tell the difference.
The Internet is very
different from the information services to which the library
subscribes.
- The information
services carefully select the databases they include.
- The database
publishers carefully select the journals and other
materials to be included in their databases.
- The publishers of the
journals and other materials select and carefully edit
the material they publish.
Because there is no
mechanism for quality control of the Internet, every item
you find when searching the Internet must be suspect
until you find proof of its reliability.
Making a
first pass at evaluating a web page
The
Internet does have pearls -- excellent and valuable material
-- and you can learn to pick them out. Get in the habit of
checking for some key pieces of information when you find a
promising article (or other information) on the Web.
Is
there an author? -- If no individual is taking
responsibility for the article, watch out. Look to
see what the sponsoring organization is. If the
article or information is part of a reliable web site
-- for example, the Mayo Clinic -- then the
information may be trusted even though no author is
given.
What
are the author's qualifications? -- A medical article
written by an M.D. from a reliable medical research
facility carries more weight than one written by
someone whose credentials are unknown.
What
is the author's purpose? -- A article written by an
M.D. working for a company selling health food may be
more interested in selling a product than in telling
the whole story. An author may have particular
political or social agenda and may not be giving you
an objective account.
Is
there a bibliography? -- An article with a
bibliography of good sources carries more weight than
an article without a bibliography, because you know
who the author's sources are. On the other hand, a
veterinary school may provide animal disease
information for pet owners that is quite reliable,
but not cite sources because it is not intended for a
scholarly audience. You would trust the information
because it was on the web site of veterinary school.
To go beyond
this first pass and do a thorough evaluation of a web page, use
the following five criteria. All are critical for judging sources
found by searching the Internet.
Five Key Evaluation Criteria**
A. Accuracy -- is the
information reliable and error free?
Is
there an editor or someone who verifies/checks the
information? Is it peer-reviewed?
Is
the information verified in other sources?
Do
experts agree on the findings?
Is
there adequate documentation:
bibliography, footnotes, credits, quotations?
Are
the conclusions justified by the information presented?
B. Authority -- Is the
source of the information reputable?
- How did you find the
source of the information? Did you use an index or
references from other works?
- What type of source
is it? Sensationalistic? Popular ? Scholarly?
- Is there an author?
(On the Web, is the page signed?)
- Author’s
qualifications? staff reporter? scholar in field?
- What is the
reputation of the publisher? (On the Web, is the sponsor
of the page reputable?; if no signature or sponsor
indicated, can you determine its origin from the URL
domain name -- .edu, .com, .org)
C. Objectivity -- Does the
information show bias?
- What is the purpose
of the information? -- to inform? persuade? explain? sway
opinion? advertise?
- Does the source show
political or cultural biases?
- Do other sources
provide other viewpoints?
D. Currency - When was the
information published?
- Does currency matter?
Does it reflect the time period about which you are
concerned?
E. Coverage -- Does it
provide the evidence or information you need?
- What are the main
points or concepts?
- What is the author's
thesis or purpose of the work? (to give an opinion, sway
audience, provide information? )
- What are the major
findings? Do they support or refute your original ideas
on the topic?
- For what audience is
it intended? (professional, layperson, child, adult?)
- Is it suitable for
your level of understanding? (too simple, too difficult?)
- Is the information in
the appropriate format? (print, electronic, video,
sound?)
Practice evaluating sites:
ENGL 101 - miscellaneous
1.
Evaluating articles - Databases & Web comparison
http://www.departments.dsu.edu/library/eval101.htm
2. Cat Scratch Disease
a. Cat Scratch Disease
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001614.htm
b. Unraveling Mysteries Associated with Cat-Scratch Disease...
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol1no1/regnery.htm
c. Cat Scratch Disease
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/health/csd.html
d.
Rife Technologies... (cat scratch fever section)...
http://www.rifeenergymedicine.com/Adven2.html
e.
Cat Scratch Disease
http://www.loyalsockanimal.com/Catscratchdisease.htm
3. Cat-Scratch Disease
http://www.astdhpphe.org/infect/catscratch.html
4. Cat Scratch Disease in Children...
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5110a4.htm
5. Feline Reactions to Bearded Men
http://www.improb.com/airchives/classical/cat/cat.html
6. Antiretroviral Drug Interactions in the HIV-Infected Patient
http://www.iapac.org/clinmgt/avtherapies/arvinteract.html
7. Feline
Leukemia Virus
http://web.vet.cornell.edu/Public/FHC/felv.html
8. Babies with beards
http://www.secretlair.com/babieswithbeards/history.shtml
9. Plan B
a. Plan B (Levonogestrel)
http://www.go2planb.com/ForConsumers/
b. Plan B (0.75mg levonorgestrel) Tablets Information
http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/planB/
c. Health Info: Emergency Contraception
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/pp2/portal/medicalinfo/ec/
d. The Morning After Pill
http://www.morningafterpill.org/
e. State Policies in Brief: Emergency Contraception
http://www.agi-usa.org/statecenter/spibs/spib_EC.pdf
f. The "Birth-Control Debate" report in CQ Researcher
(wait for instructions about this resource)
ENGL 101 - Poe
untitled [Poe & House of Usher]
http://www.uta.edu/hons/special/mansfield/0297/engl1302044/CH/paper.html
The
Philosophy of Composition
http://www.eapoe.org/works/essays/philcomp.htm
Edgar
Allan Poe’s “The Raven”
http://www.poedecoder.com/essays/raven
ENGL 101 - Cloning
Human Cloning Foundation
http://humancloning.org/
Cloning Hits the Big Time
http://www.sciam.com/article
Cloning Fact Sheet
http://www.ornl.gov/TechResources/Human_Genome/elsi/cloning.html
Improbable Research
http://www.improb.com/airchives/classical/cat/cat.html
ENGL 201 - Mobile phones
http://www.crystalinks.com/cellphones.html
http://www.newscientist.com/hottopics/phones/
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/publicfeature/aug00/prad.html
http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/ocd/mobilphone.html
CSC 105 -
Melatonin
http://www.melatonin.com/melatonin-faq.htm
http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1998/498_sleep.html
Search in http://chid.nih.gov/
CSC 105 - various
criteria: http://www.departments.dsu.edu/library/courseuse/CSC_105_evaluation.htm
[9-18-2002]
**Sources:
- Beck, Susan.
"Evaluation Criteria." The Good, The Bad
& The Ugly: or, Why It’s a Good Idea to Evaluate
Web Sources. 1997. http://lib.nmsu.edu/staff/susabeck/evalcrit.html [5/20/99].
- "Evaluating
Information: A Basic Checklist," a brochure
published by the American Library Association, 1990.
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