Evaluation of Electronic Materials
The amount of information on the web seems to multiply faster than
stray socks in the dryer, and like the usefulness of stray socks,
web sites found via search engines can be questionable at best. If
you're looking to shop, indulge your interests and hobbies, or cook
up a mean tuna casserole, by all means grab your surfboard and hit
the e-waves. But if facts, statistics, and research resources are
your quest du jour, you'll need a more structured environment to
work in. The following links offer peer reviewed, organized, and
current web-based resources to draw from, either as a supplement to
your existing research or as a starting point.
Librarian's Index to the Internet (Browse
websites by subject or search by keyword)
Scout Report Archives (Reviewed web sites with
an academic focus)
InfoMine (Scholarly Internet Resource
Collections)
Even though the above links include a sample of the
best the web has to offer, you still need a very critical eye as
you explore non-traditional or alternative research resources. Use
these guidelines as a means to evaluate web resources:
-
Why is it on the Internet? Is someone trying to
sell something, provide a service, state an opinion, describe a
pastime, or increase access to worthwhile sources?
-
How old is it? When was the last time the web page
was updated?
-
Who wrote it? Is the author's name at the website?
Is there an email link to send the author questions or
comments?
-
Are there links to other documents supporting the
validity of claims, citations, or statistics?
-
Where are the files for this site stored? Does the
site reside on a government (gov), university or college (edu), or
commercial (com) server?
-
For detailed information on evaluating electronic
information, refer to the following resources:
Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply and Questions to
Ask (U.C. Berkeley Library)
Evaluating Quality on the Net
|
