TIps of Evaluating Sites For Research Purposes
Written: Mar 01 '01
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The Bottom Line
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Excite search engines provide great service when I am doing research on a topic online. I find it to be very helpful when I need to gain certain information. And so I have created some tips for evaluating sites when it boils down to whether the information is valid. Here goes:
Whenever I am assigned a research paper or project, my first search venue is the WWW.
It has become a fast, convenient and useful tool for gathering information. Many times I
don’t have to take a trip to the library because I obtain all necessary information from the
computer. But, when I’m searching the web, I often run into sites which don’t really suit
my purpose or they contain biased and misleading information. So, I have come up with
some strategies for avoiding pitfalls and optimizing the Web for your research.
There is one main goal to be aware of and that is to locate accurate,
unbiased and current information on your topic. So, before looking you should talk to
yourself and ask some questions. For instance: What do I know about my topic, what do I
need to learn, what exactly am I looking for, what types of Internet sources are likely to
help me. When I begin searching on a topic, I don’t immediately take notes. I read the
whole site and move on to another. This way I am able to gain more information about my
topic and then make comparisons among the sites I visit.
Once you have a general idea about the topic, you can start to evaluated
the sites. Start by asking more questions regarding the contents of the site. Is the source
valid and accurate? Is the topic treated thoroughly and is the treatment biased? Since there
are many sites put on the web for the sole purpose of promoting a particular point of view,
you should check to see if you can learn more about the organization that sponsors the
site. Also, find out if the information is current.
Another area to focus on when evaluating your site is the site’s source of
publication. For instance, is the author an expert on the topic and what are his credentials?
After all, you want to get a source who from someone who knows what he or she is
talking about. Make sure that the source is a reliable one. If the site is sponsored by
academic press or educational institution, it is most likely reliable.
And yet another aspect of the site is to consider the breadth and depth of
information being covered by the site. Sometimes I go to a site which states only a few
paragraphs about its topic, while the rest of the site is donated to advertisements. So make
sure that the site has a lot of detail from which you can extract information and use in your
paper.
Another key to evaluating web sites is to recognize immediately what is
bad. For instance, check the address for a tilde, ~. If it is present, it usually indicates a
personal web site which may be biased and not useful for research purposes. Also,
examine the style of writing. A scholarly and academic article is not likely to have
incoherent passages and grammatical errors.
So after you locate a source, take time to evaluate it becomes this is a
crucial step in the research process. The basic question you should ask yourself is: will the
source be credible for my paper’s purpose. Practice and time are the keys to gaining the
hound’s nose to web sites with the information you need.
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About the Author
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