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 Using e-mail Finding information Evaluating information      |
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Evaluating information
The evaluation of information is an important part of research. This Yenza! section looks at the following:
How should we view Internet information? At its best, the Internet offers the researcher a wealth of valuable and up-to-date information across a vast range of fields. At its worst, it may seem to present an almost impenetrable tangle of information of sometimes dubious quality. The active nature of electronic communication is its greatest strength - but also at times its main weakness. Accurate and useful information may share the computer screen with incorrect and unreliable information. Internet vs printed information Printed data in books and journals have usually undergone a rigorous procedure called a peer review process. This process is intrinsic to scholarship, and involves examination, dissemination, analysis, and criticism of the information by peers, professionals or experts in the relevant field. Information found via the Internet, however, has not necessarily been subjected to scrutiny by peers, experts or professionals. Anyone with the know-how and publishing access rights to an Internet service provider's database can publish pages on the Web. There are no universal quality controls for Internet publication. In addition, if a user is not an expert in a topic area, it is difficult to determine differences between accurate or inaccurate; reliable or questionable, current or old, ground-breaking or well-cited, and authoritative or general and indeterminate. However, this does not mean that information found via the Internet is not authoritative. For example, many print journals have been published online, and will allow complete or partial access to their articles. In the same way that we evaluate what we hear, see on television, read in newspapers or books, or see advertised for authority, authenticity, accuracy or quality, we should judge or measure the value of any facts, figures, reports, results or details found via the Internet. The evaluation criteria of accuracy, authority, objectivity, current and coverage traditionally applied to other media apply equally to the Internet. Because just about anyone can publish on the World Wide Web, and because of the speed with which information appears on and moves around the Internet, some of these criteria must be applied in greater depth, or additional criteria introduced when evaluating online resources. As Alastair Smith explains, Criteria for print materials can in most cases be applied to the Internet domain, but evaluation criteria may be more critical in the "vanity publishing" environment of the Internet. Print publishing involves a series of editorial checks that tends to reduce the appearance of low-quality information. On the Internet, these checks exist to a lesser degree. <http://info.lib.uh.edu/pr/v8/n3/smit8n3.html> There is no single set of criteria to be applied to Internet information under all circumstances. Beyond the general points set out above, appropriate evaluation criteria will depend on your needs as user, and on the aims of the resources concerned. For example, the criteria applied by individual researchers to online articles they might want to cite in their own research will differ from those applied by a librarian developing a subject guide. The examples which follow below outline some of the factors taken into account in evaluating different types of resources, or evaluating resources for particular purposes. Evaluation of sites by librarians According to Alastair Smith, librarians may need to evaluate Internet information to "decide whether and information sources should be linked to a resource guide or library Web site", or "to judge the quality or appropriateness of information for a particular query or user". In Testing the surf: criteria for evaluating Internet resources, Smith offers a "toolbox" of criteria that librarians can use in evaluating and selecting Internet resource, covering scope, content, design, purpose and audience, reviews, "workability" and cost. Smith's article provides a useful introduction to the issues involved, and is available online at http://info.lib.uh.edu/pr/v8/n3/smit8n3.html Evaluation of sites for inclusion in subject guides Information gateways, subject directories and other review sites usually have clearly set out criteria for the inclusion of resources. Argus Clearinghouse
SOSIG SCOUT
Evaluation of sites for instructional purposes A comprehensive discussion of issues relating to the evaluation of online learning resources is beyond the scope of this site; the links below point to some basic resources for evaluating online resources for educational purposes. The is clearly a difference between evaluating web sites to which you direct your students for information, and those which of structured online learning, such as online tutorials. Visit the Yenza! section on using the Internet for teaching for links to additional resources for educators. "WWW CyberGuide ratings for content evaluation and Web site design" by Karen McLachlan provides a useful basic framework for rating sites for instructional purposes. The guides were developed for teachers and students to use in the evaluation of content and graphic design of home pages. It is available athttp://www.cyberbee.com/guides.html Evaluation of health-related sites Evaluation of content takes on particular relevance with sites putting forward
health-related information. In 1999 CNN reported a
study
from the University of Michigan Health System which found that while the Internet can be
a valuable source of health information, it may often lead to "inaccurate, misleading
or unproven advice." For more information on this study see the CNN
Report: The Health Information Technology Institute Resources for teaching evaluation skills "Teaching critical evaluation skills for World Wide Web resources" by Widener University provides materials to assist in teaching students how to evaluate Web resources. It focuses on the development of critical thinking skills which can be applied to evaluating Web pages. The site includes a useful PowerPoint presentation on evaluation, and links to web pages which can be used to discuss particular criteria. http://www.science.widener.edu/~withers/webeval.htm The Internet Detective The ICYouSee Guide to critical thinking about what you see on
the Web has been developed by the Ithaca College Library as a module for
training library users to evaluate Web resources. It includes a useful pop quiz, where you
are requested to compare two statistical sites related to AIDS for reliability as an
Information resource. It also provides additional links to evaluation resources: World Wide Web Virtual Library: Information Quality
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