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Evaluating Online Information. ENG 201 – Ibarra – Spring 2009. Today you will learn how to…. Apply evaluative criteria to web sites in order to analyze the validity of the information contained within them.
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Evaluating Online Information ENG 201 – Ibarra – Spring 2009
Today you will learn how to… • Apply evaluative criteria to web sites in order to analyze the validity of the information contained within them. • Determine the probable accuracy of information on the web by questioning the source of the data.
Web Page Evaluation Criteria 1. AUTHOR 2. CURRENCY 3. ACCURACY 4. PURPOSE
Evaluation Criteria #1 Authorship
Evaluation Criteria #1: Authorship • Know where to look for an author identification. • Evaluate the credentials of an author. • Distinguish sources of information by domain.
Evaluation Criteria #1: Authorship How to Identify an Author: TIP! Right-click or ctrl +click to open these links in a new window or tab. “Bad Subjects: Have We Put it All Behind Us?” http://bad.eserver.org/issues/2004/71/churchill.html “Black Panther Political Art” http://cghs.dade.k12.fl.us/african-american/twentieth_century/panthers.htm “Black Panther Party” http://www.stanford.edu/~ccarson/articles/am_left.htm
Evaluation Criteria #1: Authorship http://www.stanford.edu/~ccarson/articles/am_left.htm • http://is the protocol or access method • www.stanford.eduis the domain or host name • .eduis the top level domain • ~ccarson/articles/am_left.htm is the directory path folder on the domain computer
Evaluation Criteria #1: Authorship • .com – commercial (for profit) entities • .org – nonprofit entities • .edu – educational institutions • .gov – federal government agencies • .mil – US military • .int – international organizations • State or Country of origin • .de - Germany • .ca.us – California, US • .ca - Canada
Evaluation Criteria #1: Authorship What to look for: • Who is responsible for the site? • Do the authors have authority on the topic? • Is it a commercial, governmental, personal, or academic web site?
Evaluation Criteria #2 Currency
Evaluation Criteria #2: Currency Where to look for a source’s publication date: TIP! Right-click or ctrl +click to open these links in a new window or tab. “Bad Subjects: Have We Put it All Behind Us?” http://bad.eserver.org/issues/2004/71/churchill.html “Black Panther Party Political Art” http://cghs.dade.k12.fl.us/african-american/twentieth_century/panthers.htm “HIV and the Challenges Facing Men” http://www.undp.org/hiv/publications/issues/english/issue15e.htm
Evaluation Criteria #3 Accuracy
Evaluation Criteria #3: Accuracy What to look for: • Where did the authors find their information? http://www.ppu.org.uk/war/index.html (Peace Pledge Union) • Do the authors provide supportive evidence for their conclusions? Works cited or bibliography? http://www.undp.org/hiv/publications/issues/english/issue15e.htm(HIV & the Challenges Facing Men)
Evaluation Criteria #4 Purpose
Evaluation Criteria #4: Purpose Why was the web page created? • To sell? http://www.lifehealthsolutions.com/library3/disorders/hiv.htm (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome HIV/AIDS) • To inform?http://www.undp.org/hiv/publications/issues/english/issue15e.htm(HIV & the Challenges Facing Men) • To deceive?http://www.martinlutherking.org/(Martin Luther King Jr.)
Evaluation Criteria #4: Purpose • Always look at the domain and home page • Search for an “about us” page • To uncover hoaxes: SNOPES: Urban Legends Reference Pages http://www.snopes.com
Email Hoax? Hercules: The World’s Biggest Dog
Review Evaluation Criteria • Authorship • Do the authors have training on the topic? • .com, .gov, .edu, .org site? • Currency • Is the site out of date for your topic? • Accuracy • Works cited or bibliography? • Purpose • Why was the web site created? • Is there an “about us” or “credits” section?
Your Task: Find and Evaluate a Web Site on the Topic of Plagiarism • Divide into groups of 3-5 • Find a web page that discusses the topic of plagiarism. • Evaluate the web page based on the four evaluative criteria we just discussed in class. • Answer the question: Is this a good site to use for college-level research? Why or why not? • Answer the question: How effectively does this page use inductive reasoning? • Write one page summary of your findings and create a presentation to share with the class.
A Couple of Search Tips… • Search for web pages within specific domains: Use the search command site:.edu or site:.gov to limit your search to educational or government web sites. • Search for specific document file types: Use the command filetype:pdf or filetype:doc to limit your search to Adobe PDF or Word files.
Domain Search Example: “capital punishment” site:.edu
Filetype Search Example: “capital punishment” filetype:pdf
Use advanced search instead of search commands for the same result
Combine the two commands Example: “capital punishment” site:.edu filetype:pdf
Visit Rio Hondo Library for all your research needs! http://library.riohondo.edu/QUESTIONS? 562-908-3484 Shawna Hellenius – shawna.hellenius@riohondo.edu