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Evaluating Information Found on the Internet
The World Wide Web offers information and data from all over the world.
Because so much information is available, and because that information can
appear to be fairly “anonymous”, it is necessary to develop skills to
evaluate what you find. When you use a research or academic library, the
books, journals and other resources have already been evaluated by
scholars, publishers and librarians. Every resource you find has been
evaluated in one way or another before you ever see it. When you are using
the World Wide Web, none of this applies. There are no filters. Because
anyone can write a Web page, documents of the widest range of quality,
written by authors of the widest range of authority, are available on an
even playing field. Excellent resources reside along side the most
dubious. The Internet epitomizes the concept of Caveat lector: Let the
reader beware. This document discusses the criteria by which scholars
in most fields evaluate print information, and shows how the same criteria
can be used to assess information found on the Internet.
What to consider: Authorship
Publishing
body Point of view or
bias Referral to other
sources Verifiability Currency How
to distinguish propaganda, misinformation and disinformation The
mechanics of determining authorship, publishing body, and currency on the
Internet
Authorship is perhaps the major criterion used
in evaluating information. Who wrote this? When we look for information
with some type of critical value, we want to know the basis of the
authority with which the author speaks. Here are some possible filters:
Return to
list of considerations
The publishing body also helps evaluate any
kind of document you may be reading. In the print universe, this generally
means that the author's manuscript has undergone screening in order to
verify that it meets the standards or aims of the organization that serves
as publisher. This may include peer review. On the Internet, ask the
following questions to assess the role and authority of the "publisher",
which in this case means the server (computer) where the document lives:
Return to
list of considerations
Point of view or bias reminds us that
information is rarely neutral. Because data is used in selective ways to
form information, it generally represents a point of view. Every writer
wants to prove his point, and will use the data and information that
assists him in doing so. When evaluating information found on the
Internet, it is important to examine who is providing the
"information" you are viewing, and what might be their point of
view or bias. The popularity of the Internet makes it the
perfect venue for commercial and sociopolitical publishing. These areas in
particular are open to highly "interpretative" uses of data. Read Information
and its Counterfeits: Propaganda, Misinformation and Disinformation
for learn more about "interpretational views" that exceed the facts.
Steps for evaluating point of view are based on authorship or
affiliation:
- First, note the URL of the document. Does this document reside on
the Web server of an organization that has a clear stake in the issue at
hand?
- If you are looking at a corporate Web site, assume that the
information on the corporation will present it in the most positive
light.
- If you are looking at products produced and sold by that
corporation, remember: you are looking at an advertisement.
- If you are reading about a political figure at the Web site of
another political party, you are reading the opposition.
- Does this document reside on the Web server of an organization that
has a political or philosophical agenda?
- If you are looking for scientific information on human genetics,
would you trust a political organization to provide it?
- Never assume that extremist points of view are always easy to
detect. Some sites promoting these views may look educational. To
learn more, read "Rising
Tide: Sites Born of Hate", New York Times, March 18, 1999.
(This link will take you to the online edition of the Times;
you must register, free of charge, to view the article).
Many areas of research and inquiry deal with
controversial questions, and often the more controversial an issue is, the
more interesting it is. When looking for information, it is always
critical to remember that everyone has an opinion. Because the structure
of the Internet allows for easy self publication, the variety of points of
view and bias will be the widest possible.
Return to
list of considerations
Referral to and/or knowledge of the literature
refers to the context in which the author situates his or her work. This
reveals what the author knows about his or her discipline and its
practices. This allows you to evaluate the author's scholarship or
knowledge of trends in the area under discussion. The following criteria
serve as a filter for all formats of information:
Return to
list of considerations
Accuracy or verifiability of details is an
important part of the evaluation process, especially when you are reading
the work of an unfamiliar author presented by an unfamiliar organization,
or presented in a non-traditional way. Criteria for evaluating accuracy
include:
Return to
list of considerations
Currency refers to the timeliness of
information. In printed documents, the date of publication is the first
indicator of currency. For some types of information, currency is not an
issue: authorship or place in the historical record is more important
(e.g., T. S. Eliot's essays on tradition in literature). For many other
types of data, however, currency is extremely important, as is the
regularity with which the data is updated. Apply the following criteria to
ascertain currency:
If you found information using one of the search engines
available on the Internet, such as AltaVista or InfoSeek, a
directory of the Internet such as Yahoo, or any of the services that rate
World Wide Web pages, you need to know:
- How the search engine decides the order in which it returns
information requested. Some Internet search engines "sell" top space to
advertisers who pay them to do so. Read Pay for
Placement? from Searchenginewatch.com.
- That Internet search engines aren't like the databases found in
libraries. Library databases include subject headings, abstracts, and
other evaluative information created by information professionals to
make searching more accurate. In addition, library databases index more
permanent and reliable information.
- How that search engine looks for information, and how often their
information is updated. An excellent source for search engine
information is Search
Engine Showdown, written by Greg R. Notess.
All information, whether in print or by byte, needs to
be evaluated by readers for authority, appropriateness, and other
personal criteria for value. If you find information that is "too
good to be true", it probably is. Never use information that you cannot
verify. Establishing and learning criteria to filter information
you find on the Internet is a good beginning for becoming a critical
consumer of information in all forms. "Cast a cold eye" (as Yeats wrote)
on everything you read. Question it. Look for other sources that can
authenticate or corroborate what you find. Learn to be skeptical and
then learn to trust your instincts.
© 1996 Elizabeth E. Kirk
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