Transcript evaluating websites

EVALUATING WEBSITES
How To Find And Use Information
On The Internet
LSC 524
Rosanne Beaudoin
What To Keep In Mind As You Search…
What To Keep In Mind As You Search…
• Anyone can publish
anything on the web.
What To Keep In Mind As You Search…
• Anyone can publish
anything on the web.
• All websites are not
created equal.
What To Keep In Mind As You Search…
• Anyone can publish
anything on the web.
• All websites are not
created equal.
• There is more to a
good search than
clicking on the first
website on your search
results!
First step in finding a suitable
website???
First step in finding a suitable
website???
Search effectively!
Use the right keywords, and enough
keywords:
Use the right keywords, and enough
keywords:
• Saturn and planet, not just Saturn.
Use the right keywords, and enough
keywords:
• Saturn and planet, not just Saturn.
• Eoin Colfer biography, not just Eoin
Colfer.
Use the right keywords, and enough
keywords:
• Saturn and planet, not just Saturn.
• Eoin Colfer biography, not just Eoin
Colfer.
• “crime prevention“, not crime prevention.
Second step in finding a suitable
website???
Second step in finding a suitable
website???
Look at your
search results
before you
start clicking
away!
Third step in finding a suitable
website???
Third step in finding a suitable
website???
Ask
Questions!
• Authority
- Is there an author?
- Is the author qualified?
- Is the sponsor of the page
reputable?
• .gov, .mil, .us : government sites
• .edu - educational site
• .org - non-profit organization
• .com - commercial site
• Accuracy
- Does the information appear
to be error-free?
- Does the website offer
footnotes or links?
• Objectivity
- Does the website offer unbiased
information, or is the page
designed to sway your opinion?
- Is there any advertising on the
page?
• Currency
- Is the webpage dated?
- When was the last update?
- Do the links still work?
• Coverage
- Is what is offered on the website
what you are looking for?
- Is this as good a resource as can
be found?
Alternatives to Googling?
Alternatives to Googling?
Use the websites
recommended by
your teacher or
librarian.
Alternatives to Googling?
Use the databases
available through
your local library.
What about Wikipedia???
• Not a “bad”
website
• Not the best
choice for a
research paper.
To Find a Good Website…
• Search effectively.
• Ask questions:
Authority, Accuracy,
Objectivity, Currency,
Coverage
• Ask your teacher or
librarian.
Happy Searching!
Bibliography
Terdiman, D. (2007). Growing Pains for
Wikipedia, C/NET News.com, http://www.news.com/Growing-pains-forwikipedia/2100-1025-3-5981119.html
Beck, S. (2007). The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: or Why it’s a Good Idea to
Evaulate Web Sources, http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html
Dalton, B.and Grisham, D. (2001). Teaching Students to Evaluate Internet
Information Critically, Reading Online,
http://www.readingonline.org/editorial/editindex.asp?HREP=/editorial/december2001/index.html
YALSA, (2006) Find Good Websites Fast,www.ala.org/YALSA