Transcript Evaluating and Reviewing sources on the Internet

Evaluating and Reviewing
Information sources on
the Internet
The Web

The World Wide Web is an
information system of interlinked
hypertext documents that are
accessed via the Internet. It is also
known simply as the Web.
Essential Features of the web
 The
web page
Web page is a HTML document present on the
web server. It is accessible on the World Wide
Web. It has its own web address.
 The Website
The collection of web pages is called a web site.
It can be either Static and Dynamic web sites.
 The URL, URI or Web address
 Hypertext (Referral): is a text displayed on a
computer display or other electronic devices with
references (hyperlinks) to other text which the
reader can immediately access, or where text can be
revealed progressively at multiple levels of detail.
Analysis of URL
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http://www.americanuniversitynigeria.org/academics
Domain or server name/publisher/host name
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http://www.americanuniversitynigeria.org/academics
Resource/page name
http://www.americanuniversitynigeria.org/academics
Scheme name, others are File, ftp, gopher e.t.c.
Generic Syntax of URL: scheme, hierarchical
part, query, fragments
URL Analytics/Anatomy
cartoon published in the New Yorker (July 5,
1993) with two dogs sitting before a terminal
looking at a computer screen; one says to the
other "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a
dog."
1. What can the URL tell you?
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Before you leave the list of search results -before you click and get interested in
anything written on the page -- glean all you
can from the URLs of each page. 2. Then
choose pages most likely to be reliable and
authentic.
Things to note
Is it somebody’s personal page?
 What type of domain does it come from ?
.gov, .com, .edu, .org, .mil, .net, .int or country
codes as .us, .ir, .ng, .uk
Is it published by an entity that makes sense?
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2. Scan the perimeter of the
page, looking for specific answers
Look for links that say "About us,"
"Philosophy," "Background," "Biography“.
Things to note
Who wrote the page?
Intentions?
Is the page dated? Is it current enough?
What are the author's credentials on this
subject?
3. Look for indicators of
quality information
Are sources documented with
footnotes or links?
 If reproduced information (from
another source), is it complete, not
altered, not fake or forged?
 Are there links to other resources
on the topic?
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4. What do others say?
 Use
alexa.com Web analytical tools
 A link to the Wayback Machine an
archive showing what the page looked
like in the past.
 Do a link: search in Google, Yahoo!, or
another search engine where this can
be done
 Look up the author's name in Google
or Yahoo
5. Does it all add up?
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Step back and think about all you
have learned about the page. Listen
to your gut reaction. Think about
why the page was created, the
intentions of its author(s). If you
have doubts, ask your instructor
References
Burkhardt, J. M., & MacDonald, M. C. (2010). Teaching
Information Literacy : 50 Standards-Based Exercises for
College Students (2nd Edition). Chicago, IL, USA: American
Library Association Editions. Retrieved from
http://www.ebrary.com
 Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher
Education, the Association of College and Research
Libraries, A Division of the American Library Association,
2000: http://www.ala.org/acrl/ilcomstan.html (accessed 30
December 2014).
 Sutar, Shashikant S.. Web Design and ASP.Net. Daryaganj,
Delhi, IND: New Age International, 2008. ProQuest ebrary.
Web. 5 February 2015.
 Cornell University Libraries: Critically Evaluating
Information Sources. Retrieved from
http://guides.library.cornell.edu/criticallyanalyzing
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Quote
 The
Secret to Success is getting
started.
(Mark Twain)
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Feedbacks: Questions, Observations &
Suggestions