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Accuracy & Reliability |
Authority -
Domain Names |
Relevance & Comprehensiveness |
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Timeliness |
Objectivity |
Where to Find Answers |
Evaluating Information Quick Guide
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We live in an information-rich society
where we can become overwhelmed by information presented by many types of
media at any given time. Of course it is very useful to have open
access to many sources of information. However, we must be aware
that not all information is accurate or objective. The Internet is
an extremely useful resource for locating information on almost any topic.
However, it is particularly important to realize that not all the
information found on the Internet should be trusted. The Internet can
also lead us to misleading, inaccurate, or totally bogus information.
Our ability to discriminate good sites from bad is an important skill. Several
criteria useful for evaluating information appear
below. These criteria are useful for evaluating Internet
resources and virtually any information
resource including books and periodicals.
Remember, after applying the following
criteria, if you are still unsure about the quality
of the information you have found, ask your instructor or a
librarian for assistance before using the source for your research or
assignment.
Click
here
for tips on where to look on individual web pages for information to
support your analysis and evaluation.
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Accuracy and Reliability - How reliable and
free from error is the information? |
- Is the information accurate?
- Do editors verify facts and correct
spelling and grammar?
- Are the sources of information documented?
Is a list of works cited or bibliography provided? Are links to these
materials provided?
- Can you verify the information provided by
checking other sources such as books, periodicals, and other Web pages?
- How does the information fit within your
existing knowledge on the topic?
The following pairs of sites show the range of information
available on the Internet for several specific topics. Choose a pair, and
use the criteria listed above to judge the accuracy and reliability
of each site.
Sample Sites:
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Accuracy & Reliability |
Authority |
Relevance & Comprehensiveness |
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Timeliness |
Objectivity |
Where to Find Answers |
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Authority -
What are the author's qualifications for writing on this subject?
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- Can the author of the site be easily
identified?
- Is the author a known and respected
organization (corporate, government, or non-profit)?
- Does information about the author
demonstrate her or his education, training, affiliations, and/or
experience in a field relevant to the information?
- Is contact information provided for the
author (address, e-mail address, etc.)?
- Can the information presented about the
author be verified in other sources such as printed reference tools
(Who's Who, etc.)?
- What is the relationship between the
author and the sponsor/publisher?
- Is it a personal home page or an official
page from an organization or other institution? Web pages with /~name/
in their URL's may actually be personal home pages. The information may
not be less authoritative, but you may wish to give the page some
additional scrutiny.
- Is the author the original creator of the
information?
- What information can be inferred from the
site's top-level domain name (at the end of the URL) to determine sponsorship of the site?
For
example:
- educational institution=.edu
- government department or agency=.gov,
.state.xx.us (for example, .state.sd.us = South
Dakota)
- organization=.org
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Click here
for more information about domain names. The following pairs of sites
illustrate range of information available on the Internet on several
specific topics. Choose a pair, and use the criteria listed above to judge
the authority of each site.
Sample Sites:
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Accuracy & Reliability |
Authority |
Relevance & Comprehensiveness |
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Timeliness |
Objectivity |
Where to Find Answers |
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Relevance and Comprehensiveness -
Is the information appropriate and in enough depth to meet your needs? |
- Who is the intended
audience for this
site?
- Is the information useful?
- Does it make a significant addition to
your research?
- Are the topics included explored in
detail?
- Is coverage appropriate for your
needs?
- Is original information presented, or are
other documents and links simply repackaged?
The following pair of sites illustrates the range of
information available on the Internet for several specific topics. Choose
a pair, and use the criteria listed above to judge the relevance and
comprehensiveness of each site.
Sample Sites:
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Accuracy & Reliability |
Authority |
Relevance & Comprehensiveness |
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Timeliness |
Objectivity |
Where to Find Answers |
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Timeliness
- Is the content of the work up-to-date? |
- Are dates clearly presented to the
reader?
- Is the meaning of the dates provided
explicitly stated?
- On what date was the information first
written or created?
- On what date was the
information placed on the Internet?
- On what
date was the information last revised?
- Are the links active and kept
current?
The following pair of
sites illustrates the range of information available on the Internet from
dictionaries. Choose a pair, and use the criteria listed above to judge
the timeliness of each site.
Sample Sites:
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Accuracy & Reliability |
Authority |
Relevance & Comprehensiveness |
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Timeliness |
Objectivity |
Where to Find Answers |
Objectivity - Is the information presented
with a minimum of bias? |
- To what extent is the information
presented an attempt to sway the opinion of the reader?
- Is the information biased?
- Are various sides of the topic or issue
presented?
- Is the site used to sell or advertise a
product or service?
- Who sponsors the site? Governmental or
educational sites are less likely to present biased information than
company or organizational are. (Use the domain name at the end of the
address to determine, e.g., .edu, .gov, .com, .net, .org, .mil,
etc.)
The following pairs of
sites illustrate the range of information available on the Internet for
several specific topics. Choose a pair, and use the criteria listed above
to judge the objectivity of each site.
Sample Sites:
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Accuracy & Reliability |
Authority |
Relevance & Comprehensiveness |
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Timeliness |
Objectivity |
Where to Find Answers
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Where to find the
answers
Well designed web pages usually share some
characteristics:
Header/Footer - Information
about web pages should appear at the top or bottom of each page. This should
include:
- The author's name.
- Author's affiliation.
- Author's contact information.
Links - Links should be working and
up-to-date. The following links should be easily located:
- Links to the sponsoring organization,
business, agency, etc (if appropriate).
- Links to the home page of
the document (if appropriate).
- Links to other relevant portions of the site
(if appropriate).
Dates - Dates indicating when the
information was originally created, placed on the Internet, and/or last
revised should be included. An explanation of each date should be
included.
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Accuracy & Reliability |
Authority |
Relevance & Comprehensiveness |
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Timeliness |
Objectivity |
Where to Find Answers |
Updated 28 January 2008 by lmw
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