Research Resources
Non-subscription databases are found on the internet and are available for free. The websites included in searches are evaluated and chosen editors by human editors. The following are general databases which are reliable sources for information. (For subject specific non-subscription databases, go to Class Projects)
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/
http://infomine.ucr.edu/
http://www.ipl.org/div/teen/
http://scholar.google.com/advanced_scholar_search?hl=en&as_sdt=1,5
http://www.wolframalpha.com/
http://www.easybib.com/
http://www.bibme.org/
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/
http://infomine.ucr.edu/
http://www.ipl.org/div/teen/
http://scholar.google.com/advanced_scholar_search?hl=en&as_sdt=1,5
http://www.wolframalpha.com/
http://www.easybib.com/
http://www.bibme.org/
Website Evaluation
The World Wide Web offers students, teachers and researchers the opportunity to find information and data from all over the world. The Web is easy to use, both for finding information and for publishing it electronically. Because so much information is available, and because that information can appear to be fairly "anonymous", it is necessary to develop skills to evaluate what you find. This document discusses the criteria by which scholars in most fields evaluate print information, and shows how the same criteria can be used to assess information found on the Internet.
Authorship is perhaps the major criterion used in evaluating information. Who wrote this? When we look for information with some type of critical value, we want to know the basis of the authority with which the author speaks.
The publishing body also helps evaluate any kind of document you may be reading. Is the name of any organization given on the document you are reading? Are there headers, footers, or a distinctive watermark that show the document to be part of an official academic or scholarly Web site? Can you contact the site Webmaster from this document?
Point of view or bias reminds us that information is rarely neutral. When evaluating information found on the Internet, it is important to examine who is providing the "information" you are viewing, and what might be their point of view or bias. The popularity of the Internet makes it the perfect venue for commercial and sociopolitical publishing. These areas in particular are open to highly "interpretative" uses of data.
Referral to and/or knowledge of the literature refers to the context in which the author situates his or her work. This reveals what the author knows about his or her discipline and its practices. The document includes a bibliography. The author alludes to or displays knowledge of related sources, with proper attribution, etc.
Accuracy or verifiability of details is an important part of the evaluation process, especially when you are reading the work of an unfamiliar author presented by an unfamiliar organization, or presented in a non-traditional way.
Currency refers to the timeliness of information. The document includes the date(s) at which the information was gathered. The document includes a publication date or a "last updated" date.
Blue Valley West Evaluations
http://www.bv229.k12.ks.us/bvw_lmc/
Evaluating Information Found on the Internet
http://www.quick.org.uk/menu.htm
A more detailed explanation can be found at the above website.
Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html
Train your eye and your fingers to employ a series of techniques that help you quickly find what you need to know about web pages; Train your mind to think critically, even suspiciously, by asking a series of questions that will help you decide how much a web page is to be trusted.
Authorship is perhaps the major criterion used in evaluating information. Who wrote this? When we look for information with some type of critical value, we want to know the basis of the authority with which the author speaks.
The publishing body also helps evaluate any kind of document you may be reading. Is the name of any organization given on the document you are reading? Are there headers, footers, or a distinctive watermark that show the document to be part of an official academic or scholarly Web site? Can you contact the site Webmaster from this document?
Point of view or bias reminds us that information is rarely neutral. When evaluating information found on the Internet, it is important to examine who is providing the "information" you are viewing, and what might be their point of view or bias. The popularity of the Internet makes it the perfect venue for commercial and sociopolitical publishing. These areas in particular are open to highly "interpretative" uses of data.
Referral to and/or knowledge of the literature refers to the context in which the author situates his or her work. This reveals what the author knows about his or her discipline and its practices. The document includes a bibliography. The author alludes to or displays knowledge of related sources, with proper attribution, etc.
Accuracy or verifiability of details is an important part of the evaluation process, especially when you are reading the work of an unfamiliar author presented by an unfamiliar organization, or presented in a non-traditional way.
Currency refers to the timeliness of information. The document includes the date(s) at which the information was gathered. The document includes a publication date or a "last updated" date.
Blue Valley West Evaluations
http://www.bv229.k12.ks.us/bvw_lmc/
Evaluating Information Found on the Internet
http://www.quick.org.uk/menu.htm
A more detailed explanation can be found at the above website.
Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html
Train your eye and your fingers to employ a series of techniques that help you quickly find what you need to know about web pages; Train your mind to think critically, even suspiciously, by asking a series of questions that will help you decide how much a web page is to be trusted.