| Research - Evaluating Web Sites |
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Why Should You Evaluate Web Pages ?
- Anyone with Internet access can put up a Web page.
- There is no censorship on the Internet.
- There is no one to check accuracy or authority of the author.
- There is no editorial board to approve articles on the Internet.
- There is a lot of "commercial " publishing and sponsoring of Web pages.
- Someone can put up a page and never update it or remove it.
Strategies to Avoid Bad Information
Know Your Subject Matter
For example take a look at this page about Dihydrogen Monoxide. It looks pretty "official" doesn't it. However do you know what Dihydrogen Monoxide is? It is water.
This is one example to illustrate why you have to know what you are dealing with.
Go to one of the Internet virtual libraries such as DeskRef to look up your topic in an encyclopedia or dictionary.
Identify the Type of Page You Have Found
It is sometimes useful to identify the type of page that you have found because you would apply different criteria to each type. For example a commercial page may contain very good information but knowing that it is a commercial page should make you question the bias and accurary of the information.
Identify the Origin of the Page
URL's are a good indication of the origin of the page. Check the URL to see if the domain name includes a .com (commercial), a .gov (governmental), an .org (non-profit organization ), a .net (network), an .edu (educational), or a two letter code (country of origin).
In the last part of the address such as: http://www.ccla.lib.fl.us/~jeannie/ usually means that it is a personal homepage. However, more and more pages of all categories now have the extension .com.
Use the Appropriate Search Tools and Resources
- Make sure that the WEB is where you should be looking. For example if you want to find back issues of the Citizen you should search in the online databases.
- Start your research with a subject guide such as the Internet Public Library Reference Centre, which provides rated guides to high-quality subject collections on the Internet
or About.com where you can find several guides compiled by experts
Check to see if someone else has already "debunked" the information by consulting some of the sites below:
Check lists such as The Hate Directory :Hate Groups on the Internet A list of hate groups compiled by the Maryland State Police Association where you can check your sources for strong bias.
Use a criteria checklist to evaluate the page.
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