Evaluating Electronic Information BELIEVE IT OR NOT?! Evaluating Electronic Information Clip Art provided by Microsoft ClipArt Gallery

Should You CITE That SITE? There are billions of web sites on the Internet Tons of information is being shared by people all over the world ANYONE can publish ANYTHING and put it on the Web Most of the time, people who put “junk” on the Internet, don’t want you to know it is “junk” As the researcher (student), you are responsible for gathering accurate information ClipArt provided by Microsoft ClipArt online

So how do you know you’re getting good information? REMEMBER THIS. . . Credibility/Authority Accuracy Reliability Relevance Date Coverage Clip Art provided by Microsoft ClipArt Gallery

Let This Acronym Help You-CARRDC Credibility/Authority (CAN) Accuracy (A) Reliability (REALLY) Relevance (RAMBUNCTIOUS) Date (DOG) Coverage (COOPERATE)

CREDIBILITY/AUTHORITY Who is the author? What is his/her education, experience, and/or affiliation? Is the site a personal page or does it belong to a larger institution? (Clues: ~ tilde, %, users, members) Who published the page? ClipArt provided by Microsoft ClipArt online

CREDIBILITY CLUES Look for information on the web site about the author(s) -(FAQs, About Us, Home, Staff) Do a link check at Google or Alta Vista by typing in “link: your specific site address” in the search bar. This will tell you how many other sites link to the one you’re investigating. Politely e-mail the author if you need more information.

ACCURACY Based on what you know, does the information seem to be true? Can the information be verified by other sources? Based on what you know, does the information seem to be true? Is the information at the site consistent with other information you have found? Does the site contain spelling, grammatical, or factual errors? ClipArt provided by Microsoft ClipArt online

RELIABILITY Is the site associated with a certain political or social group? Does the information seem biased, or one-sided? Can the information be verified by another source? Is the site selling a product? ClipArt provided by Microsoft ClipArt online

RELEVANCE Does the information answer my questions? Is the information helpful to my research? Could this information be ignored because it’s unnecessary? Does the information support my hypothesis?

DATE/CURRENCY When was the information created? When was the web site updated? Are the dates important to your research? Is the site being maintained? Be careful of undated information. Clip Art provided by Microsoft ClipArt Gallery

COVERAGE Does the author list his/her sources? Are the sources reliable and verifiable? Have you heard of the author’s sources? Are the sources scholarly or reputable? What type of links does the author include? Do the links work? Is the material understandable? ClipArt provided by Microsoft ClipArt online

What a URL Can Do For You! URL=Uniform Resource Locator A URL is basically a web site address, or the information you type in the bar at the top to go to the site you desire. You can use the end of this address to help you decide on the validity of a web site. This is only a guideline. ClipArt provided by Microsoft ClipArt online

URL CLUES .com-commercial; varies in credibility .gov-U.S. government site .org-organization, usually non-profit; some have strong bias .edu-school or university site (be careful, students put information here too) .pro-professional’s site .store-retail business .int-international .ac-educational institution .mil-U.S. military site .net-networked service provider .museum-museum .name-individual Internet user ~-personal site

IMPACT ON LIFE In life, you will look to electronic sources for information regarding important decisions. You may be looking for a doctor, a new car, information about an illness, or about a place you plan to visit. You must be able to make sure the information your getting is reliable and accurate. You are responsible for locating quality information. Learn to be picky. Clip Art provided by Microsoft ClipArt Gallery

This presentation was prepared by Tami Genry, Media Specialist, Oak Mountain High School. Some of the material contained in the presentation was adapted with permission from material prepared by Joyce Valenza, Springfield Township High School, Pennsylvania.