Post assignment in DB

Source Evaluations for the Research Project–Post assignment in DB

Evaluating Web Sources

(Scroll down to find the Criteria for Evaluation!)

Often finding Internet information with subject guides and search engines is the easiest part of online research; however, evaluating what you find can be the most challenging! Unlike traditional print resources that you might find in the library, Internet information is not reviewed–it travels directly from the author to you. Traditional print sources like books or journal articles pass through a lengthy review process before getting to you–editors, critics, peers, and librarians. The “raw” nature of Internet information provides a great opportunity for you to learn some critical thinking skills by internalizing traditional evaluative criteria. Using your research paper topic begin a search for articles on the Internet (remember to use magazines, journals, books, and interviews as well). Pick two Internet sources and evaluate them for this assignment.

The Assignment

When you have found several online sources for your research project, pick two and using the instructions one through five create a paper that gives an evaluation of both sources.

Create a citation for each of your Internet sources using MLA format.

Give a brief summary of the sources.

Using the criteria on page two of this handout (Author, Bias, etc), compose a paragraph that explains what you did to evaluate your sources.

Write a short paragraph on what you learned by going through this process.

Tell me how these sources contribute, or not, to your paper topic.

Include printouts of your articles and from the LOC and “link popularity” or any other research you may have done on other databases to help you evaluate your internet sources.

Example Internet Source Evaluation Paper:

Baucom, Ian. “Charting the Black Atlantic.” Postmodern culture. 1997. Retrieved March 3, 2001,

from <http://www.iath.virginaia.edu/pmc/current.issue/baucom.997.html>.

This site helped me understand the nature of the slave trade in Africa and the cultures that worked to create trade between whites and Africans. The original sense of slavery that came about through warfare between tribes and factions in Africa became the impetus for slavery to the New World. Those trade lines became a trek that most Africans could never reverse. The trade routes and the ports of call for slave ships imply that inside trading was taking place between white traders and traitorous tribal chiefs who sold their enemies into what was to become certain death in many cases and a life of slavery for those fortunate to survive the journey. This source supports my thesis by providing great information and other sources through the extensive bibliography.

The Internet has been an invaluable tool in my research. However, I never realized just how many sites contain misleading information. The author has published many other articles in scholarly journals and holds a position at a university, which means he is an authority and credible. The date of publication is November 2002, so it is current within the last year. His bias is that slavery was a bad thing, which would have been challenged during the 18th and 19th centuries, but not today. His intended audience is college professors and their students because this was published in an academic journal that only colleges and universities subscribe to. There is also a long list of works cited in his bibliography that lend to the credibility of his work. This was a very easy site to use and find information on. The activity in the library and my close examination of the above sites has given me a new perspective on checking the sites I use. As a result of these activities, I have become more cautious in my information gathering. I now make sure and go back to the original site to check the author or the organizations behind the web page. It is hard work, but definitely worth it.

This essay talks specifically about slavery and uses a process not employed before, namely post colonial analysis. My thesis is how the slaves came to this country initially, so this source will be perfect for my paper.

Do this evaluation for both of your sources!

Criteria for Evaluating

Use the following list of criteria to evaluate two internet sources. Answer the questions for each heading.

Authority: Who is the author of the material and what are his/her credentials to be writing on this topic? Who is the publisher of the information–is it a personal web page or located at an educational or governmental institution?

Bias: Does the author have any obvious bias towards the material and does he/she make it clear?

Purpose and Intended Audience: Why did the author write this work and who is the intended audience? Is it written in a popular or scholarly vein?

Currency: What is the date of publication? Is currency an issue with your subject?

Scope and Coverage: What part or parts of your subject does this information cover? Do such things as time period, or geographical boundaries limit the scope?

Ease of Use: Can you find information quickly at this site? How is the site’s internal navigation? Is there an index or site search engine? Does the use of non-textual resources (images, audio files, video files) help or hinder you?

Bibliography (Webography): Does the author provide footnotes and a bibliography so that you can check his/her sources? Are links to other pertinent websites included and are they current (live)?