1. Evaluating Web Sources Presenting by Amal Alhamal Ayra Almeida Zarina Sushina

2. Online Research Advantages vs. Disadvantages Convenient Current Various Not reliable Transient Costly

3. Criteria for Evaluating Web Resources: Authority Accuracy Objectivity Currency Coverage Design

4. Authority Is there an author or sponsoring organization? Is the page signed? Are they have a good reputation? Are they well- known? Is there an information about the author or a sponsor? Is there a phone number or an address to contact for more information? Is the website’s domain official?.com - Commercial.edu - Education.org - Organization.gov/.mil - Government.net - Internet Service provider /~ or % - personal name

5. Accuracy Is there an editor or someone who can verify the information present in the website? Does the information disagree with the information already gathered? Is the information reliable and error-free?

6. Objectivity Is there any advertising on the page? What is the purpose of the website? Does the content show bias? Is the bias explicit or hidden?

7. Currency Is the page dated? If so, when was the last update? How current are the links? Have some expired or moved?

8. Coverage What topics are covered by the website? Are the topics discussed in-depth or just summarized? How does the website compare in content to similar websites? Is there an indication that the page has been completed, and is not still under construction?

9. Design Is the content well-organized? Is the overall design easy to comprehend? Does the site contain pop-up windows that distracts user’s attention? Does advertising pack and hide the main content?

10. Examples of online sources: Good http://www.harvard.edu Questionable http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us Bad http://www.beastobama.com/

11. Conclusion Even though the World Wide Web gives a lot information for research papers it can be easily copied with omissions and errors. If you want to do online research you need to have a critical thinking in choosing the right source.

12. References : http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/I nternet/Evaluate.html http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/I nternet/Evaluate.html http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html http://people.wcsu.edu/reitzj/res/evalweb.html http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/1160 5_12337.cfm http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/1160 5_12337.cfm http://www.lesley.edu/library/guides/research/ev aluating_web.html http://www.lesley.edu/library/guides/research/ev aluating_web.html