Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
This is a video tutorial for using the web for your research.
The Web has strengths if you are looking for:
very current information and statistics, for example, news.
The Web publishes faster and more frequently than books and journals.
Google News provides up-to-the-minute updates on what's going on in the world.
Some websites offer current, accurate statistics about a variety of topics.
For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of labor
economics and statistics.
information related to the government, or a company or organization.
Their websites typically have the most current, accurate information about policies, procedures, and contacts.
For example, you can find McDonald’s history on their website.
images
Many excellent collections of photographs, art, and other images have been digitized and are available online.
However, you must be aware of the website’s copyright restrictions and give credit to the website for any image you may use in your
research.
However, there is no review process or regulation for the Web; you will need to judge for yourself the quality of the material you find.
Before using information found on a web page for your research paper, consider the following criteria to evaluate its credibility.
Authority
Anyone can create a web site.
It is important to find out the author’s credentials in order to determine the credibility and reliability of the information.
Ask yourself the following questions:
Who is the author?
Check the domain name to see if it is a business, university, organization, or an individual.
Websites ending with .edu and .gov. are usually more credible.
What qualification or expertise does the author have on this topic?
Who sponsors the site? Is it reputable?
Did the author provide contact information?
Accuracy
Anything can be published on the Web.
There are no Web standards for accuracy.
Ask yourself the following questions:
Is the information of this site all relevant to the topic?
Are there grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors indicating unreliable research?
Objectivity
Some websites provide links of “About us,” “Philosophy,” etc. detailing the purpose in creating the web site.
Ask yourself the following questions:
What is the stated purpose of the site?
The purpose of the site could be informing, advertising, entertainment, advocacy, news, etc.
What position or opinion is presented and does it seem biased?
What kind of sites does this site link to?
Currency
The currency is vital for some types of information.
Ask yourself the following questions:
When was the page created and last updated?
Is the information sufficiently current for the topic being researched?
Do links on the site still connect to their destination?
Now you are ready to use the web.
Remember if you have any questions, please ask a librarian for help.