Sources: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

How to evaluate reliable Internet sources

If It’s on the Internet, It Must Be True, Right????

Unfortunately, anyone can upload anything to the web, whether it is true or not.

For example:

http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

http://www.buydehydratedwater.com/

No Internet Police

Unlike with most books and journals, the Internet has no one to read and confirm or deny the posted information before it is published.

No one filters the information for accuracy.

What happens when anyone can post anything?

The Good from the Bad

When you are researching for a paper or you just Google something, it is easy to be fooled by websites that seem to be reliable.

Here are some examples:

New Hartford, Minnesota - Visit the city of New Hartford, Minnesota.

Mankato, Minnesota - Visit Mankato, Minnesota.

Tricky!

The previous two web pages look real but New Hartford, Minnesota is not a real city, and the Mankato web page is a fake. Mankato, Minnesota is a real city, but this is not their web site.

The real Mankato, Minnesota's  web site  is at http://www.ci.mankato.mn.us/  

The Really Bad

The World Trade Organization web site at http://www.gatt.org/ is a counterfeit. The actual World Trade Organization site is at http://www.wto.org/.

The Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division at http://www.dhmo.org/ provides a lot of information about this essential chemical. Or does it? Can you figure this one out?

The Ugly

Some internet sites look like they have good information but are really designed to fool you. The site about Martin Luther King, Jr. at http://www.martinlutherking.org/ looks real but it is run by a neo-Nazi organization and is filled will fake facts, misleading information, and racist content.

The Stanford University's Martin Luther King, Jr. site at http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/ is a trustworthy web site for information. 

Be Careful!

Even really smart people (doctors and college professors), can be fooled by sources that seem real, but are not.

Rule of 3

So, How Do We Find Good Sources?

Look for the following to evaluate your sources:

Author

Organization

Bias

Current

Works Cited/Bibliography

Audience

Looks

Domain Names

Evaluation Criteria: Author

Who is the author or publisher?

How much experience does the author have in this area?

Author’s occupation?

Author’s educational background?

No author? Check out the company or organization.

Is there contact information?

Evaluation Criteria: Organization

Is the page easy to read?

Is the site easy to navigate?

Is there a Site Search box?

Are the graphics helpful or distracting?

Are there spelling or grammar errors?

Evaluation Criteria: Bias

What is Bias?

What is the purpose of the site?

Inform you? Persuade you? Sell you something?

Indicators of bias?

Author’s point of view

Trying to sell you a product

Full of opinions – trying to persuade

Extreme language

Appeal to emotions

Evaluation Criteria: Current

When was the page published or last updated?

Is it being updated to reflect new trends or current news?

If a few years old, is it still adequate for your research?

Are the links still active?

Evaluation Criteria: Miscellaneous

Works Cited/Bibliography

Audience

Adults? Students? Toddlers? Rocket Scientists?

Looks

Flashy? Plain?

Domain Names

.com (commercial)

.org (organization – non-profit)

.edu (educational)

.net (network)

What Criteria are Covered on This Site?

www.wiu.edu

Wikipedia/Ask.com

Issues with Wikipedia:

There is often no way to know who is editing the entries in Wikipedia.

What are their credentials/experience on the subject?

You cannot be sure that the content is “permanent”

Issues with Ask.com:

Further research is needed for most questions

There is no way to know who is answering your question

What are their credentials/experience on the subject?

Also, be careful using sites with a lot of advertising/pop-ups

Using Search Engines (Google, Yahoo, Etc.)

Every word matters.

All the words you put in the search box will be used.

“What is a verb?” will search for “what” “is” “a” “verb”

Keep it simple; describe what you need with as few terms as possible.

“In what country are bats considered an omen of good luck?” – TOO MUCH!

Try – “bats good luck”

Choose descriptive words.

“Celebrity sounds” – TOO VAGUE

Try – “celebrity ringtones”

Be prepared to describe your subject in many different ways.

Weather (what kind?)

Tornado

Twister

Winds

Storms

Kansas

The Bottom Line

Really think about the source you are about to use before you use it!

Remember the Rule of 3!

Sites on Citing (get it?)

The Owl at Perdue

Education Place

Montgomery College

Sample Bibliography/Works Cited

Bibliography (where I found my information for this presentation)

http://resources.metapress.com/pdf-preview.axd?code=123m73315vv37804&size=largest

http://taft.cr.k12.ia.us/departments/weblinks/bermuda.html

http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/web-eval-sites.htm

http://www.physics.nyu.edu/sokal/lingua_franca_v4/lingua_franca_v4.html

http://digitalliteracy.cornell.edu/tutorial/dpl3222.html