Transcript BELIEVE IT OR NOT?! - Shelby County Schools

BELIEVE IT
OR NOT?!
Evaluating Electronic Information
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Should You CITE That
SITE?
There are billions of web sites on the Internet
Tons of information is being shared by people all
over the world
ANYONE can publish ANYTHING and put it on
the Web
Most of the time, people who put “junk” on the
Internet, don’t want you to know it is “junk”
As the researcher (student), you are responsible
for gathering accurate information
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So how do you know
you’re getting good
information?
REMEMBER THIS. . .
 Credibility/Authority
 Accuracy
 Reliability
 Relevance
 Date
 Coverage
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Let This Acronym
Help You-CARRDC
Credibility/Authority
Accuracy
Reliability
Relevance
Date
Coverage
(CAN)
(A)
(REALLY)
(RAMBUNCTIOUS)
(DOG)
(COOPERATE)
CREDIBILITY/AUTHORITY
Who is the author?
What is his/her education, experience,
and/or affiliation?
Is the site a personal page or does it
belong to a larger institution? (Clues: ~
tilde, %, users, members)
Who published the page?
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CREDIBILITY CLUES
 Look for information on the web site
about the author(s) -(FAQs, About
Us, Home, Staff)
 Do a link check at Google or Alta
Vista by typing in “link: your specific
site address” in the search bar. This
will tell you how many other sites
link to the one you’re investigating.
 Politely e-mail the author if you need
more information.
ACCURACY
 Can the information be verified by other
sources?
Based on what you know, does the
information seem to be true?
Is the information at the site consistent
with other information you have found?
Does the site contain spelling,
grammatical, or factual errors?
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RELIABILITY
Is the site associated with a certain
political or social group?
Does the information seem biased, or
one-sided?
Can the information be verified by
another source?
 Is the site selling a product?
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RELEVANCE
Does the information answer my
questions?
Is the information helpful to my
research?
Could this information be ignored
because it’s unnecessary?
Does the information support my
hypothesis?
DATE/CURRENCY
When was the information created?
When was the web site updated?
Are the dates important to your
research?
Is the site being maintained?
Be careful of undated information.
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COVERAGE
Does the author list his/her sources?
Are the sources reliable and verifiable?
Have you heard of the author’s sources?
Are the sources scholarly or reputable?
What type of links does the author
include?
Do the links work?
Is the material understandable?
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What a URL Can Do
For You!
URL=Uniform Resource Locator
A URL is basically a web site address,
or the information you type in the bar
at the top to go to the site you desire.
You can use the end of this address to
help you decide on the validity of a
web site. This is only a guideline.
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URL CLUES
.com-commercial;
varies in credibility
.gov-U.S. government
site
.org-organization,
usually non-profit; some
have strong bias
.edu-school or
university site (be
careful, students put
information here too)
.pro-professional’s
site
.store-retail business
.int-international
.ac-educational
institution
.mil-U.S. military site
.net-networked
service provider
.museum-museum
.name-individual
Internet user
~-personal site
IMPACT ON LIFE
In life, you will look to electronic sources for
information regarding important decisions.
You may be looking for a doctor, a new car,
information about an illness, or about a place
you plan to visit. You must be able to make
sure the information your getting is reliable
and accurate. You are responsible for
locating quality information. Learn to be
picky.
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This presentation was prepared by Tami
Genry, Media Specialist, Oak Mountain
High School.
Some of the material contained in the
presentation was adapted with
permission from material prepared by
Joyce Valenza, Springfield Township
High School, Pennsylvania.