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Why
Think Critically?
The
number of resources available via the Internet is immense. Companies, organizations,
educational institutions, communities and individual people all serve as
information providers for the electronic Internet community. This sharing
of resources and information is an example of societal cooperation on a
grand scale and has fostered professional and personal communications throughout
the world.
However,
we must be aware that there are few, if any, quality controls for the information
that is made available. Accurate and reliable data may share the computer
screen with data that is inaccurate, unreliable or (sadly) purposely false.
In addition, the differences between the two types of data may be imperceptible,
especially for someone who is not an expert in the topic area. Because the
Internet is not the responsibility of any one organization or institution,
it seems unlikely that any universal quality controls will be established
in the near future. Therefore, you must be prepared to be critically analyze
the information you find.
Resource
selection and information evaluation involves answering three main
questions.
- Is
the resource or information likely to be found on the Internet?
- Where
is the resource or information located on the Internet?
- Is
the resource or information that exists accurate and reliable?
This
points found in the rest of this guide will deal with the third question.
Use the following questions to evaluate web resources as you conduct research
on the 'Net.
Content
& Evaluation
- Who
is the audience?
- What
is the purpose of the Web Page & what does it contain?
- How
complete and accurate are the information and the links provided?
- What
is the relative value of the Web site in comparison to the range of information
resources available on this topic? (Note: Be sure to check with a
librarian.)
- What
other resources (print & non-print) are available in this
area?
- What
are the date(s) of coverage of the site and site-specific
documents?
- How
comprehensive is this site?
- What
are the link selection criteria if any?
- Are
the links relevant and appropriate for the site?
- Is
the site inward-focused, pointing outward, or both?
- Is
there an appropriate balance between inward pointing links
("inlinks")&
outward-pointing links ("outlinks")?
- Are
the links comprehensive or do they just provide a
sampler?
- What
do the links offer that is not easily available in other
sources?
- Are
the links evaluated in any way?
- Is
there an appropriate range of Internet resources -- e.g., links
to gophers?
- Is
multimedia appropriately incorporated?
- How
valuable is the information provided in the Web Page (intrinsic
value)?
- Does
the site claim to represent a group, an organization, an institution,
a corporation or a governmental body?
- Does
the site offer a selected list of resources in a particular discipline
or field or does it claim to offer a complete list? (Note: Be sure to
check with a librarian on the range of information resources in a particular
discipline.)
- Does
the site refer to print and other non-Internet resources or just Internet
resources?
- If
a selected list is offered, are criteria provided describing how the
list of resources was chosen?
- Is
an explanation provided for use of particular criteria?
- Does
the site claim to describe or provide the results of research or scholarly
effort?
- Are
sufficient references provided to other works, to document hypotheses,
claims or assertions?
- Are
references cited fully?
- Can
the results be refuted or verified through other means--e.g., by use
of library-related research tools?
- Is
any sort of third-party financial or other support or sponsorship
evident?
- Is
advertising included at the site, and if so, has it had an impact on the
content?
- Does
the site combine educational, research & scholarly information with
commercial or non-commercial product or service marketing?
Source
& Date
- Who
is the author or producer?
- What
is the authority or expertise of the individual or group that created
this site?
- How
knowledgeable is the individual or group on the subject matter of
the site?
- Is
the site sponsored or by an individual or group that has created other
Web sites?
- Is
any sort of bias evident?
- When
was the Web item produced? Mounted? Last revised?
- How
up to date are the links?
- How
reliable are the links; are there blind links, or references to sites
that have moved?
- Is
contact information for the author or producer included in the
document?
- Who
designed the criteria used in selecting items for this site (if any),
and who selected the items listed?
- Is
the site officially or unofficially sponsored or supported by particular
groups, organizations, institutions, corporations or governmental
bodies?
- Can
the researchers, scholars, groups, organizations, institutions, corporations
or governmental bodies listed as authors, sponsors or supporters, be verified
as such, and what are their qualifications?
- How
up to date is the study or the site?
Structure
- Does
the document follow good graphic design principles?
- Do
the graphics and art serve a function or are they decorative?
- Do
the icons clearly represent what is intended?
- Does
the text follow basic rules of grammar, spelling and literary
composition?
- Is
there an element of creativity, and does it add to or detract from the
document itself?
- Can
the text stand alone for use in line-mode (text only) Web browsers as
well as multimedia browsers, or is there an option for line-mode
browsers?
- Is
attention paid to the needs of the disabled -- e.g., large print and graphics
options; audio?
- Are
links provided to Web "subject trees" or directories -- lists
of subject-arranged Web sources?
- Are
results of research studies reported in the style expected for that
discipline?
- Are
references provided in the style normally used for documentation in that
discipline?
Other
- Is
appropriate interactivity available?
- When
it is necessary; to send confidential information out over the Internet,
is encryption (i.e., a secure coding system) available? How secure is
it?
- Are
there links to search engines or is a search engine attached to (embedded
in) the Web site?
- Is
there a fee for use of access to any of the information provided at this
site, or is all information at this site freely available?
- Are
there options for text only, non-frames and non-tables views of this Web
site?
- Is
alternative text provided for images, to guide the visually
impaired?
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