Research Methods & Evaluation for the Internet Generation

Jane Long MLIS, University of OklahomaMA, English, Wright State University

Reference Services LibrarianAl Harris Library jane.long@swosu.edu

The Internet is…• a worldwide collection of

computer networks • a major presence in our daily lives• constantly growing and making an

enormous amount of information available

Web Searching is easy because…..• Speed• Choice• Availability 24/7

• We always get an answer

Web searching is difficult because …• Organization• Quality control• Reliability

Anatomy of a URLTake a look at Letterman in 1995:

Bill Gates and The Quiz Machine

There are many outstanding Internet sources that are available for our use, but….. How can we make decisions regarding the appropriateness of various web sites? How do we learn to make good selections regarding information that is available??

Web Evaluation Techniques• Domain name appropriate for the

content ?• Restricted: edu, gov, mil, a few

country codes (ca)• Unrestricted: com, org, net,

most country codes (us, uk)

Domain Names• Does evaluation

help us make choices regarding a site?

• Whois.net– www.whois.net– This website

gives us information about the owner of sites.

• .gov• .org• .mil• .com• .edu• .net• .int

Indicates a reliable domain name

Web Evaluation Techniques• Is the information published by an

entity that makes sense ? • News from its source?

www.washingtonpost.com • Advice from valid agency?

www.nih.gov/www.nimh.nih.gov/

Remember to Evaluate!!!• Authority

– Who created it? Who is responsible?– What credentials do they hold? What makes

them qualified to discuss the topic?• Accuracy

– Can the information be verified?– Check the facts!

• Objectivity– How is the information being presented?– Is it objective or biased? What’s the point of

view?• Currency (important based on subject)

– When was it published?– When was it last updated?

Step 1: Authority

• Web Pages–

Credentials/Qualifications/Reputation– Who is responsible for content?

• Webmaster?• Web team?• Organization?• Institution?• Company?

Step 1: Authority: Questions

1. Do you recognize the author's name? Is there an author's name?

2. If you don't recognize the name, or there is no name, what type of information is given about the contact information? - Position? - Organizational affiliation? - E-mail address? - Biographical information?

Step 2: Accuracy• Web Pages

– Can the information be verified?• Links to credible sites• Copyright• Works Cited• Fact check with a printed source

Step 2: Accuracy: Questions

1. Does the website cite sources used to present its information? What type of sources are they? Scholarly? Popular?

2. Is it possible to verify the legitimacy of these sources?

3. If the site is research-based, does the website clearly identify the method of research and the data gathered?

Step 3: Objectivity Biased or Objective?

• Sponsoring Organization• Agendas• Political Propaganda• Web hostinghttp://english.aljazeera.net/News http://www.foxnews.com/ http://www.npr.org/

Do you trust the author or organization providing the information?

Step 3: Objectivity: Questions

Do you trust the author or organization providing the information?

Determine the aim of the author or organization publishing the site.

What is the purpose of the web site?

1. Is it advertisement for a product or service?2. Is it directed toward political purposes?3. Is it trying to sway public opinion on a social

issue?

Step 4: Currency• Web Pages

– When was it created and last updated?• Well maintained web sites have an

indication when it was last updated or modified

• Accessibility– Dead links

• Stability– Changes URLs frequently

Step 4: Currency: Questions

1. Is a date clearly displayed?2. Can you determine what the date refers to?

When the page was first written?When the page was first posted on the Internet?When the page was last revised or

updated?The copyright date?

3. Are the resources used by the author current?4. Does the page content demand routine or

continual updating or revision?5. Do the links on the page point to the correct

Internet site addresses?

Evaluation Is Essential• Look at how things have changed

regarding the information we have available for our use.

Did You Know?

Web Evaluation Tools• Alexa

Search the URL in Alexa -- www.alexa.com Click on “Site info for …”

Who links to the site? Who owns the domain? What did the site look like in the past?

(use the “Wayback Machine” link)

Known for providing information on web traffic

Exercise: Evaluation Handout• Institute for Historical Review

– http://www.ihr.org/• Pinehearst Inc.

– http://pinehearstresearch.com/index.shtml• Southern Poverty Law Center

– http://splcenter.org/index.jsp • Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu

– http://www.deloitte.com/• Harry Ransom Center

– http://www.hrc.utexas.edu• American University for the Humanities

– http://www.auh.edu/

Google• Larry Page & Sergey Brin/ Grad

Students 1998

• Mission: "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.“

• 2008: 157 billion dollar corporation

Google: Improve Your Searches

Site Specific CommandWhat it does: searches only specific

domains

What to type: nursing jobs site:edu nursing jobs site:com nursing jobs site:org

Web vs. Library Databases• Web

– Good for current events

– Statistical Information

– Pop Culture– Opinion– Information

about Organizations & Groups

• Library Databases– Research Based

Books & Articles– Full-text

Resources– Authoritative &

Peer-reviewed Materials

– Information about People & Cultures

– Easier to Search• AND, OR, NOT• Specific Subjects

Google Scholar provides a simple way to search for scholarly literature. The search crosses many disciplines and sources--peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles--from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations.

• Works best for Citations• Restrictions to Content

– Now included in SWOSU’s list of databases

– We’re working on improving access

– Example: Greening Community Resources

Google Scholar

WikipediaWiki: A Web application that allows users to

add content to a collaborative hypertext Web resource (coauthoring), as in an Internet forum, and permits others to edit that content (open editing).

Wikipedia• Jimmy Wales January 15, 2001• No Original Research• NPOV (Neutral point of view)• No owners, multiple anonymous

authors• Anyone with Internet access can

create or edit an entry…Anyone

Wikipedia• Contributors: male, English speaking,

denizens of the Internet.• Problem is not that it disregards the facts, but

that it elevates them above all else.• Most of the content is discussion/history of

edits & not the entries themselves.• Most active 1% of editors make 55% of

changes.• Number of new articles peaked in 2007 at

around 60,000. • As of 2009, better attempts are being made

regarding the control of inaccuracies.Rosenzweig, Roy. “Can History Be Open Source? Wikipedia and the Future of the

Past.” Journal of American History 93.1 (2006): 117-146. Print.

Landgraf, Greg. “Wikipedia Growth Slows.” American Libraries Nov. 2009: 27. Print.

What does this mean when it comes to research?Here is what Wikipedia has to say about using Wikipedia as a source for research

Writing Your Paper• Writing Center

– Located in the basement of the library

– Call for appointment #774-7083• MLA Style

– Style Sheets and LibGuide– MLA Handbook at Reference &

Circulation Desk– http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/

Contact me: Jane Long

• 774-3030• jane.long@swosu.edu• http://faculty.swosu.edu/jane.long/

Questions?

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Thank you!