Judging Online Sources

Hello world!

This week we’ve been supposed to reflect on what criteria we’ve used so far and should use to judge the incredible number of web pages we find on the Internet. I must admit the Internet was an important source for me when I had to do research for my bachelor thesis; nevertheless I hadn’t thought that thoroughly about the importance of a good judgement. Anyway, I think I uncounsciously evaluated everything I came across someway. First of all I paid attention to the appearance of the website; I think it is really important that a site is well-organized and without spelling mistakes. Secondly I surely had a look at the author of the document. I must say that, since I started this course and experienced how huge the Net is and how much rubbish there is on it, I’ve realized these two criteria are not enough. In these last weeks I’ve found myself having to judge a lot of online sources and this hasn’t always been easy at first sight. I’ve taken some more things into consideration:

• Since Sarah told us about it in class I’ve always had a look at the domain ( e.g. .edu or .ac.uk) and at the file type (e.g. .pdf); this way you can understand why specific pieces of information are provided and who is their target.
• I’ve always asked myself questions about the origins of the stuff I find. Who is responsible for publishing the information provided by the web page? How reliable and authoritative is/are the author/the authors?
• I’ve made sure that the information given by the source is supported by valid documantation.
• If the web page offered the opportunity to see statistics about online visits or had a forum I would always check how many people has visited it and what they’ve said about it.
• I’ve usually tried to understand if the information has been updated regularly.

Of course these are useful criteria I follow to evaluate all kinds of sources. I had a look at the websites Sarah has suggested to us as well. I agree with all the tips the three universities give to students. Basically, I think I’ve mentioned all the most important points that we should pay attention to.
So we shouldn’t be attemped to rely on everything sources of information, especially the Internet, give us. It is really important to spend a little bit of time to decide weather the material we’ve found is enough serious and reliable or not.

I’m really curious to know how you evaluate information!

Bye bye from England! :)

Selena