Evaluating information on the web

Google

Google has become a way of life and is perceived to be a trustedbrand. Although it can be a useful starting point for research,problems include information overload and lack of quality control.

Pros and consPros Cons

• Up-to-date and easy to use

• Large and unfocussed • Information overload

• Simple to search • Only indexes around 20% of the web

• Google Scholar • Information may be unreliable

• Useful websites e.g. government and organisation

• Less scholarly peer-reviewed information

Six signs of an unreliable website

1. The site wants to sell you something - check purpose and bias

2. It is not clear who is making the claims - check authority

3. The web site is out of date - currency

4. The site has a less reliable extension (.com) - more reliable sites might be .ac.uk, .gov.uk or .org.uk

5. You have inadvertently landed on Wikipedia - check authority

6. You are being asked for personal information - check purpose & bias

Information on the web

Let’s suppose you have found a some useful looking information on the web that you would like to use and reference in your work.

How can you be sure it is trustworthy?

A quick way of judging the quality and relevance of information on the web is to ask:

• Who? • When? • Why?

Quick evaluation

WHO put the information there (who owns the site)?

• What authority or expertise do they have in this area?

WHY did they create the site?

• Do the stated aims of the site match the content? • Is the creator of the site coming from a particular viewpoint?

WHEN was the site last updated?

• If the site has not been updated for a while, how much does this matter in relation to the subject material.

Evaluation checklist

For further evaluation, check the following:

• Relevance• Authority & reliability• Purpose & bias• Currency• Supporting Evidence

Relevance

• Is the information at the appropriate level? Is it too basic or too advanced?

• Does it derive from a scholarly looking web site or one aimed at the general public?

• Is the emphasis of the topic appropriate for your needs?

• Does the information relate to countries you are interested in?

Authority and reliability

•What do you know about the author - photographs, job title, contact details or qualifications. Are these details on the employers’ web site or on their own personal site?

•Is the author is qualified to provide the information? Have they published anything else in the same field?

•Does the author work for a particular organisation?

•Is there any information about sponsorship?

•Has the information been peer-reviewed or vetted?

Purpose & bias

• What is the purpose of the information? Is it to sell, inform, persuade?

• Can you detect any bias? Is the information objective?

• Who is the target audience?

• Is there any advertising/marketing on the page?

• The About Us Statement or Help - these might help • establish the history, affiliations and standpoint of the • organisation.

Purpose and bias

Look at the domain in the URL to see if the organisation is a:

• College or university .ac• A government body .gov• Organisation .org• Commercial .com

Government, university, or professional organisations may be

more objective than a business trying to sell products.

Currency

•Can you tell when the information was created or last updated? (Does it matter for your assignment?)

•If it is a website, does it look like it is being updated and maintained?

•If it is a web site, do the links work?

Supporting evidence

•Does the author provide evidence to support his ideas or views?

•Are there accurate references to other sources that you can follow?

•Are there links to other sources?

•Is there any data or statistics provided?

Make your judgement

Taking your evaluation into consideration, do you feel

confident using this information in your work?

If not, why not?

For further help, see the Internet Detective at

http://www.vtstutorials.ac.uk/detective/