Module 2: Communication Technologies

EVALUATING ONLINE RESOURCES

Understanding the problem.
Problems of quantity: Enough or not enough?
Quality: Toward a solution.
Putting it into practice.
Jump to another topic in module 2.

Understanding the Problem

There is a wealth of materials available online. Information abounds! It used to be easy to determine the validity of materials before the Web went public in the early 1990's: if something was published in a book, it was assumed to be accurate and reliable. When publishing a book, many people are involved in the process beyond the author. There are editors, fact checkers, and proof readers. Consider the following:

Today, almost anyone can publish something on the Web. Creation of a Web page can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 1 hour.
Typically only the Web page author is involved in the creation of the page. This person is researcher, author, publisher, proof reader, etc.
Someone can publish something untrue on the Web (or other medium), and if enough people see it, everyone assumes it is true or accurate.
Many people do not currently possess the skills to determine the validity of the information they encounter on electronic sources.

What are some of the challenges faced in evaluating the validity of online materials?
What are some ways you might use to evaluate the validity of an online source?

Don't be taken! Read about online scams at the following sites:

National Fraud Information Center
ScamFreeZone.com
QuackWatch.com
ScamBusters.org

Finding definitive information.
Using Google, Altavista, or Ask.com, try to answer the following question:
What year did Gutenberg invent the printing press?

Did you come up with one definitive year?
If not, which source will you believe and why?

Problems of Quantity: Enough or Not Enough?

Another set of problems that arise as we enter into the Information Age deals with quantity. How much is enough? How do I know when I have researched enough? Have I learned everything I need to know on this topic? Typically many students ask, "How many sources do I have to use?" Other researchers ask, "Can I stop yet?" This places an increasingly larger burden on researchers because of the vast amounts of new material available electronically every year.

Using Google, Altavista, or Ask.com, try to answer the following question:
How many cities named Dallas exist in the United States?
(Give up? Try this site.)

Quality: Toward a Solution

Probably the most serious problem of sorting through the vast amounts of data available deals with quality. Is this sound, good quality material? How can I tell? In working toward a solution, two researchers expanded on the generally accepted five traditional evaluation criteria, trying to bring these criteria up-to-date and appropriate for the Information Age.

Five Traditional Evaluation Criteria (Alexander & Tate, 1996):

Accuracy
Authority
Objectivity
Currency
Coverage

Read the Evaluating Web Resources page (by Jan Alexander and Marsha Ann Tate). This page describes their research in evaluating Web resources and provides teaching materials.

Five Criteria for the Information Age (adapted from Alexander & Tate, 1996):

Criterion #1: Accuracy
- Problem:
  - How reliable and free from error is the information?
  - Were any editors or fact checkers used to review the work before it was published?
- Facts:
  - Almost anyone can publish on the Web.
  - Many Web resources not verified by editors and/or fact checkers.
  - Web standards to ensure accuracy not fully developed.
Criterion #2: Authority
- Problem:
  - What are the author's qualifications for writing on the subject?
  - How reputable is the publisher?
- Facts:
  - Often difficult to determine authorship of Web resources.
  - If author's name listed, his/her qualifications frequently absent.
  - Publisher responsibility often not indicated.
Criterion #3: Objectivity
- Problem:
  - Is the information presented with a minimum of bias?
  - To what extent is the information trying to sway the opinion of the audience?
- Facts:
  - Web often functions as a virtual soap box.
  - Goals/aims of persons or groups presenting material often not clearly stated.
Criterion #4: Currency
- Problem:
  - Is the content of the work up-to-date?
  - Is the publication date clearly indicated?
- Facts:
  - Dates not always included on Web pages.
  - If included, a date may have various meanings:
    1. Date first created
    2. Date placed on Web
    3. Date last revised
Criterion #5: Coverage
- Problem:
  - What topics are included in the work?
  - To what depth are topics explored?
- Facts:
  - Web coverage may differ from print or other media coverage.
  - Often hard to determine extent of Web coverage.

Challenges of Web Resources (adapted from Alexander & Tate, 1996):

Challenge: Search engines can retrieve Web pages out of context.
Strategy: Always try to return to the home page to determine the source of information.
Challenge: In other media, there usually are clear visual and/or audio distinctions between advertising and information. On the Web, distinctions between advertising and information can become extremely blurred.
Strategy: Try to determine if advertising and informational content are supplied by the same person or organization.
Challenge: Web pages may move or disappear without notice.
Strategy: Try to determine the stability of your source, and document source to the fullest extent possible.
Challenge: Web pages are susceptible to alteration (accidental or deliberate).
Strategy: Attempt to verify information using other sources.

Summary: How Do You Tell a Quality Resource?

Evaluating electronic resources can be challenging. In general, ask the following questions?

Does the information appear to be accurate?
Is the source authoritative? Who authored the page? Is the page on a reliable server (on an educational or governmental site vs. a commercial site)? Is it an information source or advertising?
Doe the information appear to be objective? Is the site attempting to sway your opinion?
Does the information appear to be current?
Does it appear that the subject has received sufficient coverage? Are all sides of the subject/issue covered?

Read the checklists for evaluating Web pages at Alexander and Tate's Evaluating Web Resources page.

Putting It Into Practice

Are these sites for real???

Use Ashton and Tate's checklists to determine if the following sites are valid.

Is the information provided at the following legal sites valid?
1. DumbLaws.com
Which one of the following is the real White House?
1. Is this the White House?
2. Or is this the White House?
Can you trust the following news stories from GlossyNews.com?
1. KFC Article
2. Woman Sues

Which of the following Web sites are valid for use in a research paper about PDA's and why?

Handhelds in the Classroom
pdaED.com
Dave's PDA Place
The Pittsburgh Pebbles PDA Project

In gathering information about the assassination of President Lincoln, you searched and retrieved the hits listed below. Which of the following sites would you feel confident enough to use in preparing a lesson on this subject?

SeacoastNH.com Assassination Page
R. J. Norton's Lincoln Assassination Page
The Suppressed Truth about the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

You have to be careful! In gathering information about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., you searched and retrieved the hits listed below. Both of the sites are .org's. Which of the following sites would you feel confident enough to use in preparing a lesson on this subject?

MartinLutherKing.org
TheKingCenter.org

When using online resources (Web pages) for use in a classroom presentation for your students or for research, be sure to evaluate the resource carefully! Ensure it is accurate, authoritative, objective, current, and that it sufficiently covers the topic.

For additional resources, check out the following:

JUMP TO ANOTHER TOPIC IN MODULE 2:

Using e-mail.

Internet prerequisite skills.

Searching the Web.

Searching MU's library and online databases.

Evaluating online resources.

Downloading files using FTP.

Web 2.0: Interactive online communication.

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