Information Literacy How to evaluate information found on the World Wide Web

CRITICAL EVALUATION Why Evaluate What You Find on the Web? Anyone can put up a Web page about anything for pennies in minutes Many pages not kept up-to-date No quality control no selection guidelines for search engines

Web Evaluation Techniques Before you click to retrieve the page... Look at the URL: personal page or site ? ~ or % or users or members domain name appropriate for the content ? edu, com, org, net, gov, ca.us, uk, ca, etc. more domain name info from About.com: published by an entity that makes sense ? News from its source? Advice from valid agency?

Web Evaluation Techniques Scan the perimeter of the page Can you tell who wrote it ? –name of page author –organization, institution, agency you recognize – contact by itself not enough When was it written or last updated ? Is it recent or current enough ? Credentials for the subject matter ? Look for links to: “About us” “Philosophy” “Background” “Biography” If no links or other clues... If no links or other clues... truncate back the URL EXAMPLE: EXAMPLE:

Web Evaluation Techniques Indicators of quality Sources documented links, footnotes, etc. –As specific as you expect in print publications ? do the links work? Information not retyped or forged why not link to published version instead ? Links to more resources? links to other viewpoints ? -biased, slanted ?

Web Evaluation Techniques STEP BACK & ASK: Does it all add up ? Why was the page put on the Web ? inform, facts, data? explain, persuade? sell? entice? Does the reason make you believe you can trust it? Might it be: Irony ? Parody ? Satire ? Deceit ? Quackery? share, disclose ?

Try evaluating some sites... 1.Search in Google “stem cells” abortion 2. Scan the first two pages of results evaluate the URLs do you recognize the sites? any personal pages? 3. Visit one or two sites try to evaluate who is speaking? what credentials? what bias? why is the page there?

Information literacy is defined as an individual's ability to: recognize a need for information; identify and locate appropriate information sources; know how to gain access to the information contained in those sources; evaluate the quality of information obtained; organize the information; use the information effectively. What is Information Literacy?

What is the Big6 Skills Approach? The Big Six is an information literacy curriculum, an information problem- solving process, and a set of skills which provide a strategy for effectively and efficiently meeting information needs.

Task Definition Define the task (the information problem). Identify the information needed to complete the task. Information Seeking Strategies Brainstorm all possible sources and select the best source. Location and Access Locate sources. Find the needed information within the source. Use of Information Engage in the source (read, hear, view, touch). Extract relevant information. Synthesis Organize information from multiple sources. Present the information. Evaluation Judge the process (efficiency). Judge the product (effectiveness).