Evaluating Information Sources:
Applying Critical Standards to the Internet
It is important to understand that there is no single authority governing
the explosion of resources on the Internet. In fact, the Internet itself
is a network of networks which have different origins and purposes. Because
anyone can be a "publisher" on the Net, thoughtful teachers and students
will want to consider the source of any information they obtain. The skills
students acquire in recognizing different types of publications can be
applied to Internet sources as well.
Reliability
What is the source of the information:
did it come from an academic, government or commercial site or a Usenet
newsgroup? If the information was obtained from a commercial site, what
is the site designed to sell? Does that goal affect the quality or objectivity
of the information provided?
Authority
Postings to Usenet newsgroups frequently
reflect the author's individual opinion. What do you know about this author's
credentials?
Objectivity
Is the information presented objectively,
or does it reflect the biases of its author or web site? How thorough is
the coverage compared to other sources?
Relevance
If information about your topic is changing
rapidly, how current is the information? How recently was the web site
updated? Does the information you retrieved from the Internet add a significant
perspective to your research?
More:
Critical
Evaluation Surveys at Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators
CyberGuides for rating
curriculum content and design of web sites.
Evaluating
Educational Web Sites
Thinking
Critically about World Wide Web Resources.
Go back to Searching
the 'Net.