Friends don’t let friends use
Google, at least not as their first stop while doing college-level
research. Unlike library-provided databases, there is no quality control
on the Internet. To help you critically evaluate the sources you find on
the Internet, here are some guidelines to consider.
The first place
to start is your professors recommendations on your
Library
Course Page if your course has a D2L site.
Criteria for Evaluating Internet Sites
Reliability:
Who is
the author
of the Web page?
–Are
the author’s credentials listed?
Is the
author affiliated with a reputable institution?
No author
found? Probably not reliable
–Read
About Us, FAQ, History, etc. links.
Currency
of material:
•When was the site last
updated?
–Current enough for type of information
needed?
–Don’t use undated statistics and facts.
Fee vs. Free
on the Internet:
–Fee Paid
Subscriptions to research tools
The Good
Stuff Best for academic
research
Free
Some useful, others useless
Critically evaluate sites
Tone/Bias
of material:
Why was it created?
To inform (multiple viewpoints and references
presented)
To persuade (to advocate a particular viewpoint)
To entertain
To sell you something
To mislead ·
Look at such links as About Us, FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions), Mission/Purpose
If something doesn't seem accurate, it probably
isn't
"...If I, an expert in Old Norse-Icelandic
mythology, were to devise and print on the Internet
plans for a supersonic jet, would you build and fly
it?" Lindow, John. Handbook of Norse Mythology.
Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2001. 340.
Evaluating Internet Resources
For books on this topic, please search the UW Colleges Library
Catalog at: http:/collib.wisconsin.edu/. A search on the keywords
"Internet" AND "evaluation" (in subject keyword) will bring
up relevant titles. Print resources may be borrowed from UW
Colleges' libraries by UWC faculty, staff, and students by pressing
the Place Requests button at the top of the online catalog
page.
