~ Evaluation of Internet Resources ~

"The Internet is deceptively easy.

You can log on pretty much automatically.

You can find information without much trouble at all.

Finding truth is quite another matter."

Jamie McKenzie

Together on the Web:A Dozen Information Skills for the Home.

From Now On   Vol 6|No 5|February|1997

Many of the sites on the Internet are promotional in some sense.  They are often there to sell an idea or a product.  You need to learn how to identify the company, the organization, the special interest group or the person who published the information they are reading. In many cases this will be quite a challenge as the promoters and sponsors are often interested in maintaining a low profile! Then you need to ask whether or not they have an axe to grind or a bias to promote.

The following briefly summarises the main questions to ask.
 

EVALUATING A WEB SITE

• Look at the URL to determine who produced the site (or who posted it, at least), then consider the following questions.
• Is an author listed?
• What are the credentials of the author?
• Is there a bias or a commercial interest?
• Who is the intended audience of the page?
• How current is the information?
• Are references, citations, or links to other resources included?
• Are there any facts here?

Remember......
Because many sites are more interested in persuasion than education, you will often find facts and information lacking... you need to find sites which provide the raw materials for your assignment, not pages of someone else's insights and opinions.
 

For more details check any of the sites listed here....

* Teaching Critical Evaluation Skills for World Wide Web Resources   http://www.science.widener.edu/~withers/webeval.htm
     A set of checklists to help users analyze the quality of the information on websites.

* Guidelines for evaluating internet information    http://info.wlu.ca/~wwwlib/libguides/internet/eval.html

* Criteria for evaluating information resources    http://www-lib.usc.edu/Info/Sci/pubs/criteval.html

* Critical Evaluation Surveys for internet resources    http://www.capecod.net/schrockguide/eval.htm
    A series of evaluation surveys, one each at the elementary, middle, and secondary school levels. Also links to many other evaluation resources.

* Selection Policy for Resources and Evaluation Criteria Rating System for Web Sites AASL    http://www.ala.org/ICONN/curricu2.html

* Critical Thinking and Internet Resources    http://www.mcrel.org/connect/plus/critical.html
    Includes: WWW CyberGuide Ratings for Content Evaluation, Teaching Critical Evaluation Skills for WWW Resources, Evaluating Quality on the Net, Thinking Critically about WWW Resources.

* Links to Additional Sites with Web Evaluation Materials, Widener University /Wolfgram Memorial Library.
   http://www.science.widener.edu/~withers/cklstlnk.htm
    This page provides several links to sites with articles and guidelines on evaluating Internet resources.

* Evaluating Web Sites    http://trochim.human.cornell.edu/webeval/webeval.htm
    Info on performance related to design, benefits of course Web sites, design issues.

* Web Site Evaluation Guidelines from Ed's Oasis    http://www.edsoasis.org/Guidelines.html