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Tips for Internet Research: Website Evaluation

February 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

When you are doing any kind of internet research you should also to research on your sources. If you keep a checklist of things to think about and determine as you are looking for information you can easily determine it if is credible. Credibility is necessary for any kind of citation in an academic paper.

  • First, look at authority. Determine who is in charge of the website. Is is a legitimate business or organization? You can determine this by looking for contact information or a link to their page. From there you can verify their legitimacy. If you can not verify any of this information, you should not use the website as a source.
  • Is the information accurate? You can determine accuracy in a few different ways. First look for cited sources. If there are good sources listed, the information you are getting is most likely god. Look for the qualifications of the author and how well the article is written. A well written page is more likely to be credible than one with spelling mistakes and grammar errors.
  • Is there a bias? Look at the motivation behind the page. Is is an organization trying to sell their position on an issue? Are there are advertisements all over the page so the content is not the focus? If you see these things, you should not use this website as a source.
  • Good old common sense. Your best tool for finding good sources on the internet is your own common sense. If you don’t think it is a good source, then it probably is not a good source. Move on to the next one and go from there. There is no reason to risk adding a source that is not credible when there is so much good information available.
Filed Under: Search Engines, Website Tagged With: , ,

How to Screen The Information You Find on the Internet

January 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The information on the internet is always changing and evolving. There is a continuous stream of content being created every day. There is also a huge variety of different kinds of information including opinions, facts, fiction, statistics, and sales material. There are also varying levels of reliability and of quality of information.

In order to make sure you are getting exactly what you need from the information you find on the internet you can use a short screening process.

The first step starts before your search does. You want to think about what kind of information you are actually looking for. Do you need statistics and facts, or are you looking for opinions? Is the reason for your research to find a new idea, or are you looking to back up an opinion you already have? Once you have this information the process of finding what you are looking for will be much easier.

The next stage in the screening process is to decide what kinds of sources will be the most helpful in reaching your goal. If you are looking for statistics you know you can pass over blogs and other opinion based websites. If you are looking for a different opinion about a subject, you might be able to start with a blog that has an opinion and then go on from there.

With so much information available it is important to realize that you don’t need to use the first website you come across. You don’t want to spend all day researching one topic, but you can also do a little digging to make sure you are getting all you need.

Filed Under: Website Tagged With:

How to Find Good Resources Online

December 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Many people now turn to the internet to research papers and projects now instead of going to an encyclopedia or other print sources. The big question is how do you know the information is accurate and the source is something that can be trusted?  How do you know that the research paper you are putting together with open office will not be full of false information?
There are a few things you can do to make sure that you are getting good information from a good source. There are many websites that may look official, but they are full of content generated by users who may not know what they are talking about. To ensure you are getting valid information from websites that are good sources that can be referenced you should turn to .gov, .edu, and some .org websites.
A website that ends with .edu is most likely a reputable education institution. A site that ends in .gov is most likely a government website. Both of these are good sources of reliable information. If you cite an .edu website, make sure to research the institution though because they may have a political bias. If you use one of these, it would be a good idea to include several different points of view to make sure you don’t show an unintentional bias.
A website that ends in .org is most likely a non profit group. These can be a good source of information, but they can also be very biased. There are many non profit organizations that have a political agenda, so they may be biased in one direction. Before using one of these sites it is important to research the organization so you know what the background is.
There are also many internet journals and magazines. These can be very reliable sources, but you need to check out their list of resources to make sure. The bibliography should include many resources that are not from the internet, along with several scholarly sources.

Many people now turn to the internet to research papers and projects now instead of going to an encyclopedia or other print sources. The big question is how do you know the information is accurate and the source is something that can be trusted?  How do you know that the research paper you are putting together with open office will not be full of false information?
There are a few things you can do to make sure that you are getting good information from a good source. There are many websites that may look official, but they are full of content generated by users who may not know what they are talking about. To ensure you are getting valid information from websites that are good sources that can be referenced you should turn to .gov, .edu, and some .org websites.
A website that ends with .edu is most likely a reputable education institution. A site that ends in .gov is most likely a government website. Both of these are good sources of reliable information. If you cite an .edu website, make sure to research the institution though because they may have a political bias. If you use one of these, it would be a good idea to include several different points of view to make sure you don’t show an unintentional bias.
A website that ends in .org is most likely a non profit group. These can be a good source of information, but they can also be very biased. There are many non profit organizations that have a political agenda, so they may be biased in one direction. Before using one of these sites it is important to research the organization so you know what the background is.
There are also many internet journals and magazines. These can be very reliable sources, but you need to check out their list of resources to make sure. The bibliography should include many resources that are not from the internet, along with several scholarly sources.

Filed Under: Online Resources Tagged With: , , ,

How to Recognize reputable Online Resources

December 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment

There is a lot of good information on the internet. The issue is weeding out the information that is misleading whether intentionally or not, and there is a lot of content that is not necessarily based on fact, it is based on opinion. There are some questions you can ask yourself to evaluate the content of a website and its validity.

First you can look at the authority of the author. Check into who they are. Are they well known in the field they are writing about? Look into what else they have written, and question if they are stating facts or offering opinions.

Think about the source of the information. Where did the information originally come from, and is is a reputable organization? Check to see if the information has been looked at by others in the field to make sure it is accurate. It is also important to check into the sources they have cited.

Another important piece of information to look at is the date the article was written. The relevance of timeliness depends on what kind of information you are looking for, but current information is most likely better than old information. It is also important to look at the timeliness of their sources and any links they used. A link that is no longer available is not a good source.

Relevance is also something to look at. Is the information just fluff that you already know, or does it contain the depth that you need to broaden your knowledge of the subject? If it is just touching the surface, think about whether or not you need the source or if you should move on. You can also look at how the information is organized. Does it flow and make sense with a professional look?

It is always important to look at information on the internet with a critical eye. This will ensure you are getting good information.

Filed Under: Online Resources Tagged With: , , ,

Finding Credible Resources Online

December 9, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Having the Internet to use as a resource guide is like having the world’s largest encyclopedia at hand. Using this great resource for research is nearly everyone’s first choice. You can find sites that contain genealogy records, sites that will help with home work and book reports, statistics on financial issues, real estate sites and everything else you can possibly think of. Using the Internet can be a lifesaver, but how do you know for sure that the resources you are using are credible?

One thing to keep in mind is that anyone can post anything on the Internet, which does not mean that the information is positively accurate. Unreliable sources are a dime a dozen. By using a keyword that pertains to the information you are seeking, you may come up with millions of resource articles on that subject.

One way to be slightly more sure that the information you are reading is accurate and up to date, is to check into sites that are run by large schools, colleges or even the government. Newspapers that have online websites can be a great reliable source of information also. Websites that are government run can provide quite a bit of information on things such as current statistics and cover a large number of topics including health issues, food and drug recalls, even the weather forecast.

When possible, double check any information for accuracy. This can be done by looking into other websites that offer similar information, or by going to an actual library and checking the reference material there. Many university’s offer college subjects online that are kept up to date daily by students. Watch for material that may be outdated, especially if you are writing an article for a report or homework. Check to see when the article was written and if it seems old, seek a more current one. Common sense goes a long way when finding credible resources online.

Filed Under: Online Research, Online Resources Tagged With: , ,