Using the Internet for Research

Internet Evaluation for Research Purposes

Cynthia Bruns, Reference and Instruction Librarian

There is lots of information on the Internet and most of it is for sale! Only a small percentage of the information the internet is of the quality to be used for research purposes. It is possible to find quality college-level information on the Internet but it can be difficult. Because of this, it is very important for a student to carefully evaluate any web pages before you include them within your research. The following six criteria offer some advice on how to do this:
Six Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites:

Authority	Who is the author and are credentials listed? What domain is the site from? (edu, org, or gov are preferred)
Objectivity	Look for objectivity and bias. What is the point of view? Is there advertising and is it differentiated from the informational content?
Accuracy	Are facts and figures accurate? Are the sources of these facts listed? Can they be verified?
Currency	When was the page produced? Is the information outdated? Are the links up-to-date?
Content/ Relevancy	Does the page meet your research needs? Is the subject adequately covered. (There is a lot of education materials on the web which has been placed there for school children.)
Esthetics	What does the web look like, how well organized, do the links work, and can it be easily navigated?

Examples of both good and poor quality websites

Gun Control http://www.guncite.com This is a major website, someone is putting hours and hours into maintaining this site and there are many, many pages of information. However, is website is anonymous as no author or organization is identified anyplace on this website. Why is the person or organization unwilling to identify themselves even though this topic is something the person obviously feels passionate about?
Note: Never use information from an anonymous web site. This is especially true for a controversial topic.
Jurist: Gun Laws, Gun Control and Gun Rights Here is a different web page which covers the same controversial topic as the web above. This web site comes to us from the University of Pittsburg School of Law. The purpose and where the information comes from is explained and the editors take responsibility for the information which has been loaded onto the web. This information is found on the menu bar to the left at the bottom, About Jurist and Jurist Editors.
Note: This site could be quoted in a college-level research paper
PABBIS: Parents Against Bad Books in Schools http://www.pabbis.com/ Click on PABBIS Overview to see description of the organization's point of view but notice that no individual will put their name to the project.
Note: This web site identifies the organization and its goals very clear but there is no indication as to who is a part of the organization, PABBIS. Who are the people?
Note: If an organization has no identified members, then it is still anonymous and cannot be used in college level research.
Art History Resources on the Web http://witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHLinks.html This is an example of a mega site maintained by an individual.
Note: Take a look at the description of the author Christopher L. C. E. Witcombe and look at his credentials. Is the information loaded on this website likely to be authoritative?
Fact Check.Org: Anneburg Political Fact Check http://www.factcheck.org/ Example of a standard in organizational identification format that is beginning to develop on the Internet.
Note: Click on About Us for information on the organization, its goals and members.
"Titan." Encyclopćdia Britannica http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9072639 This online encyclopedia leads to quality information but it certainly is not college-level. You might use this information to get started on learning about Jupiter's largest moon but it is only a quick starting point. You probably would not even include this web site in a college-level bibliography unless your professor told you to include any encyclopedia consulted.
Walmart Stores: The Benefits of Working at Walmart, http://www.walmartstores.com/wmstore/wmstores/HomePage.jsp
McDonalds: Food, Nutrition and Fitness http://www.mcdonalds.com/usa/eat.html
Note: When looking for information on a company, remember the information on their home page is essentially an advertisement and should be treated as such.
Performing Arts Encyclopedia. This is a free encyclopedia that is a part of the Library's of Congress's American Memory Project and acts as a search engine for all the materials with project. For more information, click on About the Encyclopedia.
Note: This is an example of the one of the quality websites that can be useful in doing research on the Internet.

In conclusion:
Become an Internet snob when you do college-level research on the Internet. Carefully evaluate any web site. Include within your research only information that is college-level, identify any bias that the website might have, look for the credentials of the author(s), and do not cite in your research any suspect web sites.

A few comments on the use of Wikipedia for Internet Research

It may be fast, and easy but Wikipedia is not recommended as a source of research materials for university students:
Reasons:
      1. Most college professors do not allow the citation of any encyclopedias.
      2. Wikipedia does not contain college-level information.
      3. Wikipedia in particular is an unevaluated source and there is no editorial control of the information included
      4. Information in Wikipedia is constantly being changed and it is possible to "rewrite history" as the author's attitudes or point of view    changes.

Wikipedia Founder Discourages Academic Use of His Creation, in the June 12, 2006, Chronicle of Higher Education

Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia compiled by a distributed network of volunteers, has often come under attack by academics as being shoddy and full of inaccuracies. Even Wikipedia’s founder, Jimmy Wales, says he wants to get the message out to college students that they shouldn’t use it for class projects or serious research.

Speaking at a conference at the University of Pennsylvania on Friday called “The Hyperlinked Society,” Mr. Wales said that he gets about 10 e-mail messages a week from students who complain that Wikipedia has gotten them into academic hot water. “They say, ‘Please help me. I got an F on my paper because I cited Wikipedia’” and the information turned out to be wrong, he says. But he said he has no sympathy for their plight, noting that he thinks to himself: “For God sake, you’re in college; don’t cite the encyclopedia.”

Mr. Wales said that leaders of Wikipedia have considered putting together a fact sheet that professors could give out to students explaining what Wikipedia is and that it is not always a definitive source. “It is pretty good, but you have to be careful with it,” he said. “It’s good enough knowledge, depending on what your purpose is.”

In an interview, Mr. Wales said that Wikipedia is ideal for many uses. If you are reading a novel that mentions the Battle of the Bulge, for instance, you could use Wikipedia to get a quick basic overview of the historical event to understand the context. But students writing a paper about the battle should hit the history books.