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High School Research Portal: Analyze

Evaluating Sources

  • As one begins reading be sure to look at all resources with a critical eye to ensure accuracy and reliability.
  • Learn a little about the author, who published it, their agenda (if any), and when it was published.
  • Also pay attention to the intended audience.  Is the resource too complex or too elementary?
  • Purdue University's Online Writing Lab's excellent source evaluation guidelines:

Evaluating Pages from the World Wide Web

5 Criteria for Evaluating Pages from the World Wide Web
(From the American Library Association)
The accuracy of Web Documents
  • Who wrote the page and can you contact him or her?
  • What is the purpose of the document and why was it produced?
  • Is this person qualified to write this document?
 Authority of Web Documents
  • Who published the document and is it separate from the "Webmaster?"
  • Check the domain of the document. What institution publishes this document?
  • Does the publisher list his or her qualifications anywhere?
  Objectivity of Web Documents
  • What goals/objectives does this page meet?
  • How detailed is the information?
  • What opinions (if any) are expressed by the author?
The currency of Web Documents
  • When was it produced?
  • When was it updated?
  • How up-to-date are the links?
 Coverage of the Web Documents
  • Are the links (if any) evaluated and do they complement the documents’ theme?
  • Is the site all images or a balance of text and images?
  • Is the presented information cited corrected?
 Summary
  • Accuracy. If your page lists the author and institution that published the page...
  • Authority. If your page lists the author credentials...
  • Objectivity. If your page provides accurate information with limited advertising...
  • Currency. If your page is current and updated regularly (as stated on the page) and the links (if any) are also up-to-date, and . . .
  • Coverage. If you can view the information properly--not limited to fees, browser technology, or software requirement, then...
You may have a Web page that could be of value to your research.

Kapoun, Jim. "Teaching undergrads WEB evaluation: A guide for library instruction." C&RL News (July/August 1998): 522-523. <http://www.ala.org/cfapps/archive.cfm?path=acrl/undwebev.html>.

 

What About Wikipedia?

  • Wikipedia is a tremendous resource for simple, easy to read information.
  • Over the years, Wikipedia has done an amazing job of improving their reliability and security.
  • Still, there is much debate in the academic world if Wikipedia is a solid source for academic papers.
  • At JIS we encourage students to use Wikipedia for personal research, but to go beyond when writing assessments.
  • Wikipedia can be solid starting point for key words, and the sources listed and linked in their "References" or "Citations" sections can be great resources.