Evaluation of electronic resources

Review of Internet quality issues

• Nearly anyone can publish information on the Internet so– academic journals sit next to comics– presidential speeches, next to idle gossip

• Need to think twice about online information

Internet quality issues cont...

• Internet resources are volatile– can be here today, gone tomorrow– might be useful one day and useless the

next

• Resources are not always user-friendly– bad design can prohibit access– usability will vary

Practical steps that can be taken to evaluate quality on the Internet

• Be clear about your purpose • Define your information needs • Know your orientation within an Internet

site • Use URLs as clues to quality

– ‘.ac’ indicates an academic web site

• Identifying the type of resource you are looking at

Quality criteria that can be used to evaluate an Internet resource, including criteria for

• Content - the information itself • Form - the format of the resource • Process - the systems that support the

integrity of the resource over time

Content criteria

• Validity – is it reliable?

• Accuracy – is it accurate?

• Authority and reputation of the source

• Uniqueness – is it original?

• Completeness – is any info missing?

• Coverage – what depth does it go into?

• Timeliness – is it up-to-date?

Form criteria• Navigation Features

– The ease with which users can orientate themselves within a resource and find their way around it.

• User Support– The support that is offered to users to help

them answer queries and problems that arise whilst using the resource.

• Appropriate Technologies

Process criteria• Information Integrity

– Value of the information content over time—usually relates to the work of the author or creator.

• Site Integrity– Stability of the site over time. This usually relates to the

work of the site manager or Webmaster.

• System Integrity– Stability and accessibility of the server hosting the

resource over time. This usually refers to the work of system administrators.

Internet quality issues and traditional content quality

Traditional quality criteria

• Evaluation of print materials– Accuracy– Authority – Objectivity – Currency – Coverage – Demand– Cost: value and budget

Electronic information resources

• When looking at formal electronic publications, then quality issues are often easier due to– established publishers – established reputations

• But additional quality issues arise, particularly related to the appropriateness of information and the selection criteria

Electronic resources and quality

• Subscriptions to electronic journals may significantly increase access to information– Bundling of titles = common practise

• Information management issues– Is it appropriate information?– Is it high quality?– What should be avoided?

Formal publication quality issues

• Even amongst established publishers standards can vary

• Appropriateness of information– A big influence on quality issues– How useful is access to 4000 full text journals that

are inappropriate in terms of content?

• Publisher’s motives behind bundling– Remember that they have motives that might not

match librarians needs!

Questions which are worth considering include• How can the most effective and

appropriate information be identified and promoted?– using resources that are familiar– identifying new resources that are now

available

• How can appropriate new and unfamiliar resources be promoted and their use encouraged?

Summary• Quality and evaluation is important when dealing with

electronic resources• Some materials will have known quality (e.g. online

versions of paper subscriptions)• Other, new resources will need to be assessed and

evaluated against quality criteria• Remember your existing librarian information

evaluation and quality control skills• New, high quality resources are still likely to require

promotion and users encouraged to explore them

Thank youAny questions?