1. Why Evaluate? Anyone can publish anything on the Web! It is your job, as a researcher, to look for quality!

2. Think of the BIG Questions ·Who: CREDIBILITY / AUTHORITY ·What: TYPE OF MATERIAL ·Why: CONTENT AND ACCURACY ·How: RELEVANCE AND VALUE

3. WHO: CREDIBILITY / AUTHORITY Who is the author? What are his or her credentials? Education? Experience? Affiliation? Does the author’s experience really qualify him or her as an expert? Does he or she offer first-hand credibility? (For instance, a Vietnam veteran or a witness to Woodstock?) Who actually published this page? Is this a personal page or is it part of the site belonging to a major institution? (Clues pointing to a personal page: ~, %, users, members)

4. No Author Information? ·Words and phrases to look for: ·About us, Who Am I, FAQ’s, For More, Company Information, Profiles, Our Staff, Home ·E-mail the author ·If you have no information other than an e-mail link, write a polite e-mail asking for more information.

5. More credibility clues (What do others think?) Do a link check ·In Google or AltaVista typeGoogleAltaVista link:site address ·Your results will show which other sites have chosen to link to this page. If respectable institutions have linked to a site, that provides a clue about the site’s credibility. Does the site appear in major subject directories like Librarian’s Index to the Internet (ipl.org)?

6. Truncate the URL Delete characters in the address line up to the next slash mark to see if a main page offers more information about who is responsible for publishing the page you are interested in. Go from: ·http://www.statecollege.edu/history/middleages/chaucer/smith.htm ·http://www.statecollege.edu/history/middleages/chaucer ·http://www.statecollege.edu/history/middleages ·http://www.statecollege.edu/history ·http://www.statecollege.edu

7. Still more credibility clues If you have an author’s name but no further information about credentials, ·Search the name in quotation marks in a search engine or online database ·Include words like profile, resume, or C.V. (curriculum vitae—an academic resume) to narrow your search ·Include the name of a college or association you can connect with the person

8. No author? ·If you cannot find the name of the author, you must work even harder to prove the source’s credibility by closely examining the other three areas: what, why, and how.

9. WHAT: SOURCE ·What kind of site is it? ·Consider this: What makes the information obtained more reliable than another type of source? ·What makes the site more credible than another?

10. WHY : CONTENT ·Is the content accurate? ·Is the content different from other sources that you have come across? ·Did the author document his or her sources? use reliable, credible sources? ·Are those sources real? Can you verify them?

11. HOW : VALUE/RELEVANCE ·How will you use it? ·How valuable is it to your research? Can you write your paper without this information? ·How will it help you support your thesis?

12. Practice Determining Credibility ·http://gardenofpraise.com/ibdcarve.htmhttp://gardenofpraise.com/ibdcarve.htm ·http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2208004?uid=3 79339331&uid=3739776&uid=2&uid=4&uid=62&uid =3739256&sid=21105159492983http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2208004?uid=3 79339331&uid=3739776&uid=2&uid=4&uid=62&uid =3739256&sid=21105159492983 ·http://www.east-buc.k12.ia.us/00_01/bh/gwc/gwc.htmhttp://www.east-buc.k12.ia.us/00_01/bh/gwc/gwc.htm ·http://shs.umsystem.edu/historicmissourians/name/c/ca rver/http://shs.umsystem.edu/historicmissourians/name/c/ca rver/

13. What can you learn from a URL? ·You can use the end, or suffix of a domain name to help you judge the validity of the information and the potential bias of a web site. ·This strategy is only a guideline. People can easily purchase domains that do not reflect their actual purpose.

14. URLs as clues to content ·.com=commercial sites (vary in their credibility) ·.gov=U.S. government site ·.org=organization, often non-profit. Some have strong bias and hidden agendas ·.edu=school or university site (is it K- 12? By a student? By a scholar?) ·. mil=U.S. military site ·.net=networked service provider, Internet administrative site ·.museum=museum ·.name=individual Internet user ·.biz=a business ·.pro=professional’s site ·~=personal site

15. What do their URLs reveal about these sites? ·http://personal.statecollege.edu/~ejv114/ ·http://www.fi.edu/wright/index.html ·http://www.house.gov/house/Legproc.html ·http://aolmembers.com/joyciev328/civalwars ong

16. Remember, the free Web is not your only choice. ·Did you use print sources? ·Did you search subscription databases? ·Did you check with your teacher or librarian for advice?

17. Why does it even matter? ·This assignment is about more than just writing another paper. ·It is about ·Forming an opinion and defending it with credible sources ·Recognizing credible and reliable sources ·Pulling all of the pieces together into a cohesive unit ·Using the internet to your advantage