Evaluating Online Information

ENG 201 – Ibarra – Spring 2009

Today you will learn how to…

1. Apply evaluative criteria to web sites in order to analyze the validity of the information contained within them.

2. Determine the probable accuracy of information on the web by questioning the source of the data.

Web Page Evaluation Criteria

1. AUTHOR

2. CURRENCY

3. ACCURACY

4. PURPOSE

EVALUATION CRITERIA #1Authorship

Evaluation Criteria #1: Authorship

Know where to look for an author identification.

Evaluate the credentials of an author.

Distinguish sources of information by domain.

Evaluation Criteria #1: Authorship

How to Identify an Author:TIP! Right-click or ctrl +click to open these links in a new window or tab.“Bad Subjects: Have We Put it All Behind Us?”http://bad.eserver.org/issues/2004/71/churchill.html“Black Panther Political Art”http://cghs.dade.k12.fl.us/african-american/twentieth_century/panthers.htm“Black Panther Party”http://www.stanford.edu/~ccarson/articles/am_left.htm

Evaluation Criteria #1: Authorshiphttp://www.stanford.edu/~ccarson/articles/

am_left.htm

http:// is the protocol or access method www.stanford.edu is the domain or host name .edu is the top level domain ~ccarson/articles/am_left.htm is the

directory path folder on the domain computer

Evaluation Criteria #1: Authorship

.com – commercial (for profit) entities

.org – nonprofit entities

.edu – educational institutions

.gov – federal government agencies

.mil – US military

.int – international organizations

State or Country of origin .de - Germany .ca.us – California, US .ca - Canada

Evaluation Criteria #1: AuthorshipWhat to look for: Who is responsible for the site? Do the authors have authority on the

topic? Is it a commercial, governmental,

personal, or academic web site?

EVALUATION CRITERIA #2Currency

Evaluation Criteria #2: Currency

Where to look for a source’s publication date:

TIP! Right-click or ctrl +click to open these links in a new window or tab.

“Bad Subjects: Have We Put it All Behind Us?”http://bad.eserver.org/issues/2004/71/churchill.html

“Black Panther Party Political Art”http://cghs.dade.k12.fl.us/african-american/twentieth_century/panthers.htm

“HIV and the Challenges Facing Men”http://www.undp.org/hiv/publications/issues/english/issue15e.htm

EVALUATION CRITERIA #3Accuracy

Evaluation Criteria #3: Accuracy

What to look for: Where did the authors find their

information?http://www.ppu.org.uk/war/index.html (Peace Pledge Union)

Do the authors provide supportive evidence for their conclusions? Works cited or bibliography?http://www.undp.org/hiv/publications/issues/english/issue15e.htm (HIV & the Challenges Facing Men)

EVALUATION CRITERIA #4Purpose

Evaluation Criteria #4: Purpose

Why was the web page created? To sell?

http://www.lifehealthsolutions.com/library3/disorders/hiv.htm(Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome HIV/AIDS)

To inform? http://www.undp.org/hiv/publications/issues/english/issue15e.htm (HIV & the Challenges Facing Men)

To deceive? http://www.martinlutherking.org/ (Martin Luther King Jr.)

Evaluation Criteria #4: Purpose

Always look at the domain and home page

Search for an “about us” page

To uncover hoaxes:SNOPES: Urban Legends Reference Pageshttp://www.snopes.com

Email Hoax?

Hercules: The World’s Biggest Dog

Review Evaluation Criteria

Authorship Do the authors have training on the topic? .com, .gov, .edu, .org site?

Currency Is the site out of date for your topic?

Accuracy Works cited or bibliography?

Purpose Why was the web site created? Is there an “about us” or “credits”

section?

Your Task: Find and Evaluate a Web Site on the Topic of Plagiarism Divide into groups of 3-5 Find a web page that discusses the topic of

plagiarism. Evaluate the web page based on the four

evaluative criteria we just discussed in class. Answer the question: Is this a good site to use

for college-level research? Why or why not? Answer the question: How effectively does this

page use inductive reasoning? Write one page summary of your findings and

create a presentation to share with the class.

A Couple of Search Tips… Search for web pages within specific domains:

Use the search command site:.edu or site:.gov to limit

your search to educational or government web sites.

Search for specific document file types:Use the command filetype:pdf or filetype:doc to

limit your search to Adobe PDF or Word files.

Domain SearchExample: “capital punishment” site:.edu

Filetype SearchExample: “capital punishment” filetype:pdf

Use advanced search instead of search commands for the same result

Combine the two commandsExample:“capital punishment” site:.edu filetype:pdf

http://library.riohondo.edu/

QUESTIONS? 562-908-3484

Shawna Hellenius – shawna.hellenius@riohondo.edu

Visit Rio Hondo Libraryfor all your research needs!