In our highly digitized world, it is very tempting to think that everything is on the Internet. This is not true now, nor will it be true in the foreseeable future. However, there are many very useful, research-quality web sites available to you. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of webs sites that offer very inaccurate, misleading or just confused information.
Whenever you use books or periodicals in the AVC library you can be assured that the information in those materials has been reviewed by qualified editors for accuracy, spelling, grammar, reliability etc. You can trust that these books and periodicals are appropriate for your term paper. However, when it comes to the Internet, this is not the case. Please remember: No one is in charge of the World Wide Web or the Internet. No one is checking to see whether the information on hantavirus is accurate, factual or written by a qualified expert. When it comes to the Internet, YOU are the editor, YOU are the one who evaluates whether the material presented on the web site is appropriate for your research paper. This part of our presentation will teach you how to select useful web sites from those that should not be used for writing term papers.
There are five evaluation criteria that will help you determine the credibility of Internet sources:
Accuracy
Authority
Objectivity
Currency
Coverage
In the example below you will see sections from a reputable web site from the Centers for Disease Control. As you read the following criteria, note how many of these criteria can be found in the CDC site.
How accurate is the information presented at the site? Can any of the facts in the article be verified against an outside source? Is the information free of grammatical, spelling and other errors? Errors may indicate that the author is less than conscientious in presenting information. Is there anyone responsible for the accuracy of the information? Books and periodicals published in a conventional fashion employ professional editors to ensure that the information in their publications is correct and reliable. Where the Internet is concerned, you become the editor and you make the decisions on whether the information you are reading is reliable. In the example below from the Centers for Disease Control you will see that the page has been reviewed, presumably by a member of the CDC staff. In this instance, the Special Pathogens Branch, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Center for Disease Control and Prevention is responsible for the content and accuracy of the web site.
Authority
Who is responsible for the contents of the page? Can you find the name of the author or organization that produced the page? Is there a way to contact the author by e-mail? What are the author's qualifications? If the site concerns a scientific topic, does the author have a degree or degrees in a scientific discipline? Anyone can publish anything on the Internet, regardless of his/her qualifications. You may be reading an article by a professional scientist, an amateur interested in science or a term paper by a college student. Try to find out as much as you can about the author and use only material that has been written by a science professional for your paper. In the CDC web site below you will see the qualifications of a government agency as author.
Objectivity
When evaluating sites, try to identify the goals of the individual or group responsible for the site. Not every site on the Internet is an objective, unbiased source of information. Some sites are authored by individuals or organizations that have a clearly stated point of view. Some sites will attempt to present both sides of an issue, others will not. Evaluate whether the point of view presented is appropriate for your paper. Certain sites, such as those produced by a government agency or an educational institution tend to be more objective than sites from organizations or companies. Look for .gov or .edu in the URL (web site address) to tell if you are at the site of a government agency or an educational institution. The example below is an example of a .gov address.
Currency
Conventional publications such as books and periodicals generally bear a date of publication. This allows you to determine the age of the material and whether or not you would want to use it in your paper. Web based publications do not always have a date, and when they do, it does not always refer to the date the content of the site was written/published. A date on a web page may indicate the original publishing date of the article, the date the article was placed on the web, or the date the page was last updated. Pages that are updated frequently are often the most useful for a scientific paper. Undated pages may offer outdated information that would not be appropriate for your research paper. Note that the date is plainly stated in the .gov site below.
Coverage
Although the Internet has a tremendous amount of information about an enormous number of topics, much of this information is represented by very brief articles. Such articles do not generally explore a topic in-depth, and often don't have enough information to be useful sources for a research paper. Try to choose articles that are long enough to demonstrate that the author has a thorough understanding of the topic. Look for articles that include a bibliography/list of references showing the materials the author used when creating the article. This bibliography/list of references can be a valuable source of other articles on your topic. The CDC article below is six pages long and only part of a much larger and very comprehensive discussion of the hantavirus. Links to an extensive bibliography are also available from this site.
Remember...
You are the editor! You decide whether an article on the Internet is appropriate for your paper. Still not sure about whether you should use a particular site? Ask your instructor. Your instructor is very familiar with the field of microbiology and can make any final recommendations on the usefulness of the material presented on a web site.
Click on the link for a quick reference guide Evaluating Internet Sites (PDF format). Click here to go to the CDC All About Hantavirus: Virology page.